Touhou: Unsubstantial Underground Adventure
by Aines445
Summary: The last thing Reimu Hakurei remembers is flying towards the mountain. Despite that, she somehow finds herself in an underground location solely filled with monsters, trapped by a strong barrier. Reimu has dealt with many odd cases, and this surely won't be the last. Determined, Reimu sets off to find a way to cross the barrier and leave the Underground...
1. Chapter 1

**First Words:**

* * *

Welp, I'll try to keep this as brief as possible so you can jump right into it: in this story, there are First Words and Author's Notes. While Author's Notes are general commentary on a chapter, First Words have the more practical purpose of answering guest reviews, being the glossary and relaying important information (or interesting trivia too, but not all the time). With that in mind, I listed the story's title as 'Touhou: Unsubstantial Underground Adventure', but its full title is actually 'Touhou Sanbouken (山妄件): Unsubstantial Underground Adventure', but I figured you couldn't care less about the kanji most wouldn't understand, so I ommitted them for the title: techincally, the story's named 東方山妄件 ～ Unsubstantial Underground Adventure; I was aiming for a Touhou-ish title, as if this were somehow part of something Touhou-related. At least, I tried my best ^^'

Originally, the title was 山夢件 (also read as sanbouken) but the kanji for dream over at the middle doesn't technically have this reading (so any normal person would've read it as 'sanmuken' instead, which would have ruined the wordplay), so I decided I should replace it with something that actually does. Anyway, that part is a wordplay on 'mountain adventure' in Japanese using kanji with different meanings: however, unlike before, I won't tell you said meanings... For now ;D Whatever the case, you'll see me referring to the story as 'Sanbouken' rather than, for example, 'UUA' most of the time, so now you know why.

Also, in here, the stick thing Reimu wields (it's technically a gohei) is canonically called 'Purification Rod', so that's what I called it too. Not only that, but the 'amulets' Reimu throws around here aren't fancy necklaces (^^') but ofuda, paper charms or amulets with divine properties (in Reimu's case, they're for combat): I translated them like that because I figured you'd be just as lost with the term 'ofuda' (and 'charms' was also awkward-sounding to me). As for her needles, she has them because... she has them. In canon, I mean (if you play as her in the games, you'd know). Now that I've gotten that out of the way:

"..." = Dialogue

'...' = Quotation marks, mocking tone

 _itallics = thoughts, emphasis_

 **bold = intensity, 'in-game' text**

 _ **itallics and bold = extra intensity**_

 **. . . = pause (within horizontal lines, that stands for a timeskip or transition into another scene)**

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Golden Flowers and Purple Ruins**

* * *

Golden flowers.

Faintly feeling them on her back, Reimu Hakurei slowly gains consciousness and opens her eyes. "Where...?" she mumbles, somewhat light-headed. Unable to recognize the location she is in, she immediately stands up with a defensive stance, snapping out of any drowsiness she felt before. _How did I get here?_

Beyond the light shining on her, the rest of the room is dark. Staring up at the light almost blinds Reimu, as it's sunlight. _Did I fall from there? But when did I...?_ "If I remember it right, I'm pretty sure I was going to check on this weird incident, and then..."

"... Well, this happened. I guess I'll just leave." While Reimu spots an ominous door within the dark area, she decides that she is better off knowing where exactly she is before going towards it, and the best way to do so is to leave and check if the sights are familiar. _Seriously, what made me fall down here? I don't remember anything..._ The most Reimu remembers is flying towards the mountain. Afterwards, she draws a blank. "Ugh, weird..."

Sighing, Reimu starts floating upwards, towards the light indicating her exit.

... However, something hard stops her. Colliding with it, Reimu yelps as she is knocked back by a strange force preventing her from leaving the area she is in. "A barrier...?" she utters with a surprised expression. After taking out two amulets, Reimu throws them at the barrier; they have no effect on it. Instead, they merely stick to it for a few seconds before falling to the ground, leaving Reimu somewhat shocked while staring at the barrier intently. _This looks like a strong barrier,_ she thinks as she lands on the floor. _  
_

Reimu floats up to it again, this time making sure not to crash into it now that she knows it's there. With a curious gaze, Reimu pokes it lightly; it doesn't hurt. _But I still can't leave... How did anyone stick me through this thing in the first place?_ "Seems almost as sturdy as Gensokyo's..." But different in composition: the Great Hakurei Barrier is not a completely physical barrier, and is instead a 'barrier of sense' (or so Reimu heard from Yukari's explanations) with strange properties involving the border between reality and fantasy; this barrier sealing her now is made up of sheer magical power with seemingly no weak point, a completely different barrier overall.

If anything, this barrier may just be physically stronger than Gensokyo's simply due to the fact that Gensokyo's barrier does not mostly rely on sheer power like this one seems to. Despite such a simplistic sort of sturdiness, the barrier appears to possess an above average level of complexity that Reimu would have to take more time scrutinizing to fully grasp (rather than only momentarily ponder on it), though it still hardly rivals the inner workings of the Great Hakurei Barrier. For now, at first glance, it looks to be the sort of barrier that can only be broken under a certain condition: judging by its reliance on its physicality and raw magical power, that condition is most likely be a power that matches the barrier's... Something Reimu would struggle to amass so easily.

Even if she isn't weak at all, Reimu doesn't draw her strength from sheer power. Besides, the amulets Reimu threw, composed of spiritual energy, seemed to have lost their power by being in contact with the barrier's surface, as if their energy had been transferred to the barrier; the barrier itself seems comprised of spiritual energy. This more emotional, faith-based magical energy is what makes up most of Reimu's attacks, and while especially effective against youkai, she figures the power of said attacks would in no way match the barrier's or even dent it at all. Dropping the spiritual energy from her magical attacks altogether would still hardly fulfill the likely condition for the barrier's destruction either, so it isn't a plausible method.

Reimu considers attempting to dispel it. It's what she can and does for all the barriers she encounters, a process she easily executes: any barrier can be taken down by Reimu, whose knowledge on seals and barriers, as well as how they work is almost unrivaled; in under mere seconds, Reimu can normally dispel a barrier. However, she can tell this is a different case: it may seem simple, but the power stored within the barrier makes it all the more complicated to handle. Naturally, a physically weak barrier is easier to dispel because there is barely any magical power halting Reimu from taking down its core foundations. In this way, magical power in a barrier is like its padding, and this barrier in particular abounds in it. Due to this, for Reimu to dispel this barrier in particular, she would need some sort of preparation and ritual simply to cut through this power, let alone take down the barrier from its very core.

Reimu narrows her eyes, considering her options. Afterwards, she glances down at the ground and sighs. "There's no way I'll stay in this place for a whole week to take the barrier down when I don't even know what else it's trying to trap..." _The culprit could be here, too._ With that in mind, Reimu assesses that her priorities lie elsewhere, beyond taking the barrier down. Naturally, her highest priority is to return to Gensokyo, if she isn't in some obscure part of it already. However, assuming she was transported to this location, Reimu cannot help but consider that she may have been involved in some sort of sinister incident. As such, it is her duty to get to the bottom of the situation. At the very least, she must investigate the location, if not to find a way to cross the barrier. If it happened to be trapping something dangerous as well as herself, eliminating it could prove risky (and opening a hole in it by force could cause its destruction depending on the type of barrier), and Reimu only needs to leave by herself.

Reimu faces the big, purple, ominous door. "Seems like there's nowhere else to go but here..." she mutters, somewhat unmotivated. However, as she walks towards it, a determined, confident expression emerges. "Fine then! I'll go for it!" she declares before kicking the door open with a convicted gaze. "Whoever trapped me is seriously gonna take a beating after I find them out!"

"Well, someone will sure be in for a world of pain when that happens," a voice Reimu's mind can only describe as 'cutesy' utters, making her immediately spot its source. "I can almost feel bad for that door."

A golden flower.

It's smiling at Reimu, confusing her further. "A-a talking flower...?!" _Is this some kind of youkai?_ Reimu finds herself leaning towards 'yes' as the answer to that question, finding no other justification for it being sentient (and with a face).

"Golly, judging by that reaction, you must be new here!" the flower remarks, keeping a fairly welcoming smile regardless of Reimu's suspecting gaze. "Out-of-place, even!" The flower winks, leaving Reimu with a skeptic expression. "I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower! Since I can see you're really confused, I'll just show you how things work around here, okay?"

Suddenly, from within her, a red heart emerges and floats towards a black square that just appeared in front of her; Reimu widens her eyes in shock. "Huh...?! Wait, what's going on?!" Afterwards, Reimu glares Flowey down, being at least aware that he was the one behind whatever is happening. "You better not be up to any funny tricks, you hear me?!"

"Oh, this is perfectly normal, trust me," Flowey cheerfully states. "The heart you just saw is your SOUL: it's the culmination of your entire being!"

Reimu stares at the heart blankly as she points at it, unconvinced. "This thing?"

"Yup! See that 'LV' below the box?" Confused, Reimu looks down at where Flowey told her to. "That stands for LOVE," Flowey explains, "which is what you want to get so you can grow stronger." From above him, five white bul— _(friendliness)_ _pellets_ materialize, rotating in the air. "And to get it—"

"I've got to dodge those with this soul thing, right?" Reimu cuts him off, finally finding something within Flowey's explanation that she can understand: the strange things in front of her are already enough to give her a headache, let alone the explanation of how it all works. "Well, that doesn't change much from what I usually do." To further familiarize herself with the new system, Reimu attempts to move her soul by hand; this does not work. Instead, at the precise moment Reimu considered moving her soul, it moved where Reimu wanted it to by itself. _Wow, so I can just do it with my mind? I guess my soul'd know where I want to go, huh... Anyway, it's definitely convenient._

While Reimu is smiling contentedly at the progress she made with figuring out how everything works, Flowey shakes his head (?) and frowns disappointingly, seemingly saddened. "No, that's not it! You've got it all wrong!" Reimu's smile immediately disappears, replaced with a confused frown.

"I-I have? I'm pretty sure I've got to dodge those bullets." At least, as common sense, Reimu knows that bullets hurt, so dodging them seems like the best course of action.

"But these aren't bullets, you know?" Flowey looks up at them with an innocent smile. "They're something else entirely: they're friendliness pellets! You're supposed to catch them all and gain lots of LOVE!" Despite the seemingly cheerful demeanor of Flowey, Reimu, processing his words and having basically gotten used to the strange screen-like things in front of her, finds herself narrowing her eyes at him.

"'Friendliness pellets', huh..." she mutters, undoubtedly suspicious of him. If anything, her intuition is clearly telling her the things above Flowey are definitely not something she is supposed to catch. "For a flower, you're awfully fishy." Reimu's expression turns determined. "This is some sort of prank, isn't it? Just give it up already and let me beat you up, you weird flower."

They lock eyes. A moment passes.

 **. . .**

... Flowey's initial smile turns into a devious smirk. "Golly, now that's just scary," he sarcastically remarks as he rolls his eyes. "So you figured it out before this could even start. Good for you, strange young lady! Now you'll clearly be able to see..." His eyes narrow at the precise moment his white bullets multiply, while Reimu remains unfazed, even as they circle her soul. "Just how painfully you'll DIE here...!"

Flowey laughs, his face distorting to a much more intimidating form, sharp teeth being somehow visible from the maniacal grin he had. Afterwards, the bullets close in on the red heart at somewhat slow speeds as if to create suspense, but Reimu merely gazes at them with great focus. "Wait, there's no way to dodge them...? Hey, you're cheating!" Reimu points at Flowey accusingly, seeing the circle already passing through the edges of the black square her soul is at. _If that's really the 'culmination of my being' or whatever... I can't let it get hit!_

"Cheating?" Flowey smugly questions. "Hee hee hee... What an IDIOT! I guess that's the only thing that won't change with the people that get put in this position. In this world, it's kill or BE killed: why would ANYONE care about something like CHEATING?" The smirk on Flowey's face only served to annoy Reimu further, making her briefly glare at Flowey before focusing on her soul again.

The bullets are slowly but surely closing in on it; Reimu frowns. "Hmph, if that's how you're going to do it, then fine! But you'll regret what you did!" In a determined manner, Reimu pulls out a single card. **"Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal!"** With only those words, the card shines and from it, many glowing orbs of diverse colors and sizes emerge and aim for the bullets surrounding Reimu's soul, completely erasing them.

... Admittedly, Flowey is more than surprised at this. "WHAT...?!" After all, humans shouldn't possess that sort of power, even if Reimu happens to not belong in this world. The worst part, for Flowey, is that there are still remnants of the spellcard and, seeing as it's a homing one, said remnants quickly start flying towards him; Flowey scowls.

Swiftly, Flowey burrows into the ground and disappears from sight, unscathed. The orbs frantically spin around the area before fading away with a small, harmless explosion, leaving Reimu to stare at where Flowey was at before escaping. "That flower got away, huh..." Meanwhile, the strange squares and screens in front of Reimu fade away as well, the last one to do so being one with the text:

 **'*Flowey ran away.'**

 **'*You won!'**

Reimu decides to ignore the text (having other priorities in mind) and stares at the red heart returning to her, still finding herself somewhat in awe from how unheard of the situation is: Gensokyo is a location filled with many interesting things, people or youkai, but none have ever done something similar to what she just experienced. At least dodging bullets is still a rule of thumb in the area she is in, though, beyond that, Reimu has yet to comprehend how exactly conflicts are solved.

"Goodness, what is all this commotion about?!" Startled at the sudden entrance of another... thing, Reimu jumps back, only to gaze at the source of the female voice and see her form. _Another youkai?_ Said youkai looks around frantically, seemingly worried, until she spots Reimu and gasps. "A human...?"

The youkai seems surprised, which Reimu isn't too focused on. Instead, she is focusing on her appearance, since she has never seen anything like it with other youkai: she is completely covered in a not too long coat of white fur, has two small horns and ears coming down to her neck; she is also wearing a deep blue dress with a strange symbol on it. "What else would I be? You're not here to play any weird tricks on me, are you? I've had enough of that for today."

"'Tricks'?" The youkai repeats with a curious gaze. "Were you being harrassed by any monster? You poor soul..." Despite her clearly concerned demeanor, Reimu still finds herself suspecting her of not being very trustworthy as well, especially after having encountered Flowey.

Besides, she is a youkai: it's practically customary for Reimu to beat them to the ground. "You could say that," Reimu answers with a frown and points her Purification Rod accusingly at the youkai. "But what about you? You're a monster; I bet you do your fair share of that kind of stuff too."

At the seemingly sudden accusation, the youkai's eyes widen. "Why would I ever do such a thing?" she asks, genuinely confused. Reimu gives her a skeptic look in response, considering whether to prepare her amulets for a fight or see what else the youkai would have to say. "That encounter must have truly scared you. However, worry not, child! I have no intentions of harming you. In fact, I have nothing but welcoming thoughts in my mind."

"Huh?" Reimu utters, staring at the youkai smiling warmly at her. "That makes no sense. Why would you want to welcome me? There's no way I'll believe that." Youkai prey on humans: underhanded methods aren't out of the question either.

With that in mind, Reimu feels the need not to let her guard down. "Why not? A human has not fallen down here in a long time," the youkai says, "Is it not normal for others to welcome new people?"

"You're saying that as if there were no humans around here." _I guess there wouldn't be if it's so secluded... and full of monsters,_ Reimu thinks, growing even more suspicious of the youkai in front of her. "And I'm pretty sure your welcome isn't going to be pleasant."

The youkai blinks in confusion before gazing at Reimu sympathetically. _Does she still think I'm like this because of that flower bothered me?_ "Well, there will be pie," the youkai points out with a smile.

"Human pie?" Reimu offers, playing along. "A red and white one, maybe?" She smiles knowingly despite the clearly unconvinced gaze, practically ready for a battle.

Meanwhile, the youkai reacts in a shocked manner. "Oh dear, not in the slightest!" _She really doesn't seem up for violence; weird..._ Usually, in Gensokyo, everyone is up for violence. However, this clearly isn't Gensokyo, and the youkai in front of her is definitely not a normal one, Reimu concludes.

"What do you want then?" Reimu asks with a curious expression, assuming a more casual stance than before. Either the youkai is an amazing actress, or she is sincerely concerned for Reimu; her intuition bets on the latter. "If you're not gonna do any youkai-like, punishable things."

... The youkai willfully decides to ignore the last part of Reimu's words. "As I have implied in this conversation, I want to welcome you to the Ruins, my child," she answers, smiling at the fact that Reimu is no longer suspecting her. "After all, you have just arrived here, have you not? And you must surely be confused." Reimu slowly nods, as if acknowledging her words. "Well, I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass by this area every day in hopes of a human arriving, but it has been quite the long time since one has fallen."

"Every day? Isn't that kind of tiring?" Reimu immediately asks, imagining herself walking through the whole shrine premises every single day without fail: cleaning it is already troublesome enough...

Toriel chuckles. "You get used to it. If you do not mind me asking, what is your name, child?"

"Reimu Hakurei," Reimu responds, "Nice to meet you, I guess." To Reimu, such words feel strange because she never had to introduce herself in such a manner to a youkai before: usually, Reimu beats them up, and somehow remembers their names afterwards. _Why is she keeping watch on humans though?_

 _Besides, she must know there's a really strong barrier blocking the area; she'd know what it's for._ "Now that we are acquainted, let me guide you through the Ruins," Toriel says.

Seeing as Reimu cannot leave the Ruins at present, she utters, "Sure." While she wants to know about the barrier and many other things, Reimu figures she can ask at a better time.

"Then follow me," Toriel says before she starts walking towards another ominous-looking door leading deeper into the Ruins. Giving no further acknowledgment than the sound of her footsteps, Reimu follows behind her, glancing at her surroundings in mild curiosity.

 _This place is really... purple._ Having already entered the room Toriel was heading for, Reimu spots two sets of stairs in opposing sides, both leading to a single door on the top. Down below, near the stairs were red leaves, which make Reimu wonder how underground ruins could even have leaves in the first place.

Shrugging, Reimu follows Toriel up the stairs. In the next room, to the right, are five stone plates on the ground. Toriel steps on four of them, leaving only the middle one untouched. Afterwards, she pulls a lever next to the door and it opens; Reimu raises an eyebrow in slight awe. "Navigating the Ruins requires you to solve puzzles like this one. Do you understand?"

"Wait, I've got to do that? I mean, it doesn't look too hard, but... Why do you have puzzles around anyway?" Since Toriel is the caretaker of the Ruins (at least, according to her own words), Reimu is assuming she has knowledge of such things. However, there could always be the possibility of that not beng the case, as even Reimu doesn't know a few important parts about her own shrine... like its god.

Deciding to ignore that train of thought, Reimu focuses on Toriel's answer. "You could say puzzles have always been a tradition of sorts with monsters. Because of this, the Ruins have an abundance of them."

"Tradition, huh..." As Toriel and Reimu move on to the next room, Reimu glances behind her thoughtfully. "The youkai here are pretty strange." She never thought she'd find a need to point that out about youkai (since they were already so weird to begin with), but then again, she never thought she'd find a civilization of youkai who love puzzles so, in her mind, her statement is perfectly justifiable.

However, despite how straightforward Reimu was, Toriel seems confused. "'Youkai'? I apologize, child, but I do not understand what you are referring to."

For a moment, Reimu stares at her skeptically. "I'm talking about you," Reimu finally answers, still finding it strange that she actually had to do so, "You're all youkai, as far as I can tell."

"I see. Though I am not sure of that word's meaning, I can assure you that every resident of the Underground is a monster," Toriel says, "and not these 'youkai' beings you speak of."

Reimu waves her hand dismissively. "Same thing!" While voicing that, Reimu spots many yellow arrows pointing at a switch. "Anyway, I guess this room has a puzzle too? At least, judging by that." She points at the switch, noticing something in yellow written beside it, also with an arrow pointing to the switch.

 _Pretty flashy for a puzzle,_ Reimu remarks in her mind, _Aren't puzzles about figuring the solution out on your own?_ "Oh yes, this room also has its own puzzle. In this case, you had to flip certain switches to pass through, which I have highlighted for your convenience."

"Doesn't this defeat the point of the puzzles?" Reimu asks. "If you have them around as tradition or whatever, you might as well follow through with them... not that I'd actually like to solve puzzles either." Reimu smiles apprehensively, hoping the puzzles won't be too hard. Rather than complicated tricks and roundabout paths, Reimu prefers charging straight ahead and just take care of the problem; needless to say puzzles aren't something she appreciates.

However, that doesn't mean she can't solve them if she has to. "Well, I simply thought it might be dangerous for you to try them on your own," Toriel explains, glancing to the side in slight embarrassment. "At least, not without having experienced a few beforehand."

Beyond the first part of the room she is in, Reimu sees a small river and a bridge leading to the other side of the room, where she can spot two other switches. The first one in that side is the one with the arrows, making Reimu immediately know which one to press. "Too dangerous? Huh..." _What would've happened if I failed this one?_ Reimu thinks with a curious expression. "If you say so."

Feeling neutral towards the situation, Reimu walks over to the first switch and flips it. Meanwhile, Toriel crosses the bridge and stares at Reimu expectantly with a warm smile on her face. While she finds such a kind expression slightly strange for unknown reasons, Reimu simply approaches Toriel as she is blocking the path. Noticing this, Toriel's eyes widen slightly in realization before she heads for the pathway out of this room, currently blocked with spikes. "You are doing great, my child."

"I'm just flipping switches," Reimu points out as she flips the second one with arrows pointing to it and hears the sound of the spikes retracting to the ground afterwards. "There's nothing special about that. So, what's next?" Reimu asks as she follows behind Toriel, who is already walking to the next room.

When Reimu finds a dummy in the corner, she stares at it blankly. "As you can see, we will be going over fights," Toriel answers. "As a human living in the Ruins, monsters will attack you. However, there is no need to worry. You only need to stall for time; have a conversation with them. Afterwards, I will arrive to solve the conflict."

"Huh? No way," Reimu immediately utters, frowning at her. "I can handle myself just fine without you. Besides, it's not like I'm going to live here either, where did you get that idea?" Seeing Toriel's surprised expression, Reimu only narrows her eyes. "I've got my own home already, and I'm not planning on letting myself get permanently trapped because of some barrier."

 **. . .**

... Toriel looks towards the ground. "However... You cannot leave. The barrier will not be broken. Besides, attempting to get out of the Ruins is dangerous, innocent child." She looks back up at Reimu with a saddened smile. "You are much better off here, where few will target you. Though we have yet to reach it, you can stay in my home; it happens to have a vacant room that you can freely use." As if realizing something, Toriel looks somewhat surprised. "Now that I think about it, I have not done much cleaning on it lately... Well, I was not expecting you, after all. In any case, do you see that dummy? You should—"

"Hey, I just told you I'm not going to do that, don't change the subject!" Reimu shouted, irritated.

Toriel glances at the side. "I was not changing the subject. I merely... Reminded myself of where we currently are and was going to finish what I was saying about how to resolve conflict in the Ruins. However, if you are truly confident you understand this, we can always skip this area and see the next one."

"That's not the problem and you know that! As I said before, I don't plan on sticking around if there's more to this place than the Ruins," Reimu asserts with a serious expression, "since that could have information on how to get me through the barrier. I want to go home: I've got my own duties to perform, and I'm not letting you get in my way." Reimu brandishes her Purification Rod, assuming a battle stance.

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

... Toriel narrows her eyes, seemingly aloof. "You poor, naive child. You do not know of the dangers that lie beyond the Ruins: they... _Asgore..._ will kill you. If you do not stay here, you will not survive."

For a moment, Reimu stares at Toriel in awe of her lack of emotion, not having imagined she would ever see that. However, afterwards, Reimu's determined expression returns. "Stop treating me like I can't fend for myself. If that 'Asgore' youkai will target me, so be it," she stated, "I'll just beat him up and move on. Besides, what am I going to stay here for? Survival? I'd rather face all those 'dangers' than cowering in fear under that stupid barrier!"

While Toriel's eyes remain devoid of emotion, she chuckles weakly. "You are just like the others... Every human that falls here leaves the Ruins, determined to return home," Toriel slowly responds, "And every single one of them... Is met with their death in the Underground." She frowns, as if bitter memories had sprung to mind. "There is no hope for you out there, child. I will tell you this one more time: stay here. In the Ruins, you will be safe, I promise. I will take care of you the best I can, and make sure you lead a wonderful life here." Toriel attempts to smile, but it is clearly strained, the sadness of having heard Reimu's words still within her. "So please... do not go. Do not recklessly seek for something you cannot attain."

 **. . .**

Reimu frowns bitterly. "Who do you think you are...?" Toriel's eyes widen at the tone of Reimu's voice, seeing how serious she truly is about that question. "My mother or something? I've handled myself just fine without one all these years, and I sure don't need one now." Reimu's other hands reaches for amulets. Toriel looks shocked. "Don't push your own desires on me. I'd never be happy here. You're the only one who'd feel that way! So, if you're planning on getting in my way..."

"... I won't hold back!"

 **'*Toriel blocks your path.'**

A black screen appears in front of Reimu with those words, which surprises her. "Again with this thing...?!" As expected, her soul emerges from her and inserts itself below the biggest one of the screens, beside an 'HP' gauge: Reimu does not understand what that stands for, but it surely happens to be what the gauge is informing her about. Whatever the case, '20/20' is displayed there, indicating she hasn't lost any HP. Feeling Toriel's cold gaze, Reimu focuses on her again.

"It seems like I cannot convince you," Toriel remarks, "You are that determined to leave... just like the others. However, I am not letting you go to your death so easily. If you truly intend on venturing out of the Ruins, you will have to prove to me you have the strength to do so. Do you really wish to do this? This is your last chance. If you do not run away now, you will have to face me."

 **. . .**

 **. . .  
**

... Reimu smiles. "That's just what I wanted." Ying-yang orbs materialize and float around Reimu.

Five amulets fly in Toriel's direction.

Immediately followed by fifteen red and white bullets, and five needles...

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"So, let me guess..." Marisa says with a casual expression, "Reimu beat me to it, everything's solved and there's no treasure whatsoever?"

Their expressions contort in confusion.

"No treasure, huh?" Marisa assumes, smiling in a carefree manner. "Oh well, was already expecting that anyway. I mean, this is just a mountain."

One of them shakes their head, and another one speaks... The rest acknowledge those words by giving more verbal input. They truly seem confused about the topic suddenly brought up by the quirky stranger that is Marisa.

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

Marisa's eyes widen in surprise. "Wait, you don't even know who Reimu is...?"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Meanwhile, Toriel gasps. "That power..." She has managed to dodge everything except for one bullet, miraculously: Reimu's patterns were surpringly difficult, at least in monster standards. However, it isn't the power of her attacks that leaves Toriel shocked, but the fact that she coul even perform them in the first place. "You are a human and yet, you..."

"What's wrong? I didn't do anything inhuman," Reimu says, "I didn't even go all-out on that one." Reimu figured Toriel wouldn't be as experienced with spellcards as she is, so Reimu did end up deciding to cut her some slack. However, it seems like that was already enough to leave her dumbfounded.

Reimu stares at her skeptically, waiting for a response. "Humans are not supposed to be able to shoot those," Toriel explains, still in awe of the situation, "Their bodies are not mostly composed of magic like us monsters: you should not be able to create those patterns, and yet..."

"Huh?" Reimu utters before glancing at one of her ying-yang orbs. "Oh, you mean the bullets? Humans can do this kind of thing too if they have the power for it; it's not impossible. I mean, I'm doing it right..." Reimu pauses, and looks around with a surprised expression. "Why can't I attack...?!"

Reimu's words serve as way to make Toriel go back to looking aloof, having almost forgotten she is fighting Reimu... because she does not truly wish to do so. "Since you marked the end of your turn, it is my turn now," Toriel informed, "You cannot perform any action during your opponent's turn beyond controlling your own soul."

"No, wait, that's not true!" Reimu argues, reminding herself of her encounter with Flowey. "I was able to attack on that flower's turn, without using this soul thing." Reimu used a spellcard to take out the impassable circle of bullets Flowey had conjured, she is at least sure of that. As she thinks about it, she notes that Flowey seemed surprised at the time. Was it because of that?

Toriel's eyes widen in awe. "Is that... the truth? It cannot be..." Toriel looks down at the ground in deep thought, leaving the black square devoid of bullets until the text screen returns and Reimu's soul positions itself next to the HP gauge again.

 **'*Toriel is too busy pondering your powers to FIGHT.'**

"H-hey, your turn!" Reimu shouts, "You ended your turn... or whatever!" Despite Toriel's explanation, Reimu still finds herself not getting used to the idea of this battle system, especially when she has followed the spellcard rules for so many years. "And just after you explained it too..."

Toriel flinches at hearing Reimu, snapping out of her thoughts. "Ah..." She glances to the side. "Well then..." Her gaze turns cold again. "If you are not planning to flee, go on. Prove to me you are strong enough."

"You don't have to say that again!" Not liking the fact that Toriel is underestimating her, Reimu frowns and makes a spellcard emerge on top of her hand. **"Dream Sign: Evil-Sealing Circle!"**

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"Woah, Aya, you were already around?" Marisa asks, seeing as Aya just came out of the mountain. "What are you even doing here anyway?"

Aya immediately turns to Marisa with a prideful smile the moment she hears her voice. "If it isn't the witch! Were you curious about this mountain as well? I can't blame you: this is the perfect place for my next news article; I've already stocked up on just the right amount of pictures too."

"Huh... Well, I should've known you'd come here for something like that," Marisa responds, shrugging casually. "By the way, isn't it weird that Reimu's nowhere to be found? She's usually the first one to go out whenever there's an incident, but the interesting folks I met here had no idea of who I was talking about. Apparently, someone else is taking care of this already."

"Ah, yes, Moriya's shrine maiden got here a while ago and is currently dealing with this incident," Aya informs, "I suppose that god was as bothered by another mountain in Gensokyo as the Tengu." After those words, Aya's expression turns curious. "Though, now that you mention it, I haven't seen the red-white shrine maiden at all. I wonder why..."

"Yeah..." Marisa mutters, seemingly thoughtful as well. "Hey, if Sanae's been solving this, is she still around?"

"I think so," Aya states, "It's not like I've been following her around, after all. Are you planning on asking her about the shrine maiden?"

Marisa nods. "Yup." Afterwards, she grins. "Oh, and about treasure. When I asked those fellows from the mountain, they said there could be something inside, so I might as well!"

... Aya shakes her head with a smile and shrugs. "Predictable."

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

After many, many turns, Reimu managed to take 146 HP from Toriel.

... As for Toriel, her bullets had only hit Reimu twice. She is simply too skilled at dodging bullet patterns; she barely struggled. If anything, the only reason she failed to dodge two times was because she isn't used to having to control her soul rather than moving by herself (leading her to get confused and move her soul randomly by accident). While Toriel still possesses more than enough HP to continue facing Reimu, she is admittedly starting to doubt whether she can truly stop her or not. "Child..." Toriel mutters, gazing at the ground, saddened. "I will not give you any other chance. Give up. Do not go."

Since she figures she can't reach Reimu through fighting, Toriel attempts to convince her through her words again. "I'm pretty sure you've threatened me like that before, and my answer is still the same anyway: I'm not going to stay no matter what you say."

It's Toriel's turn, but she hesitates. That determination in Reimu's eyes... it is hard facing it. However, Toriel is not about to relent. Fire-like bullets shoot from above the black square in two opposing rows that occasionally intertwine, leaving a gap in that area that Reimu's soul could go through each time; the way to clear it is especially easy for Reimu. "If anything, you're the one who should be giving up already: it's clear your patterns are weak; I'm not even trying right now. Didn't you say you wanted to test my strength? I think I've already proven myself enough."

 _I don't know how to beat these fights anyway,_ Reimu adds in her mind. While Spellcard battles could only be lost if you get hit too many times, Reimu has yet to know the conditions for taking care of these kinds of fights, so she has merely been attacking at random. Meanwhile, Toriel closes her eyes in a thoughtful, though strained manner, deliberating on something she is not fond of.

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

"... I can see that," Toriel admits, opening her eyes. "You already seem skilled, and have a handful of special abilities no humans have been known to possess. However..." Toriel's saddened expression serves to make Reimu stare at her in slight discomfort, unused to witnessing such raw emotions. "I am afraid, innocent child. I am afraid of you ending up like the rest, like those who have come before you. You do not deserve to die. You do not deserve to be targeted and captured. No one should suffer through such a despicable fate... Do you understand? It is hard to bear... The guilt over not being able to protect them..."

 **. . .**

Reimu frowns, unsure of what to do in light of Toriel's emotions. "H-hey..." Reimu calls out, slightly uneasy from the unfamiliarity of the situation. "Uh, Toriel... I get that you just don't want to send me out to my death, but I can't afford to stay here either. I've got my own home, and my own duties: I belong there, and nowhere else. So, I've gotta go back, no matter what it takes. I don't care if it's dangerous. I've been through lots of dangerous stuff already, so I'm basically used to it by now." Reimu manages to smile, but it's admittedly awkward when seeing Toriel's greatly saddened expression. "Anyway, I'm sorry, but I'm going leave this place, whether you like it or not. I bet it's kind of lonely in gloomy, purple ruins like these, but I'm not the one who should be staying with you. So... Well, I'm fine, so you don't have to worry about me at all."

Reimu points at Toriel with her Purification Rod. "And you? You'll also be fine, I bet."

 **'*You spare Toriel.'**

"Huh?" Reimu utters in reaction to reading the text in front of her; Toriel is equally surprised. _What does this mean?_

If anything, Toriel looks shocked, and continues to stare at Reimu.

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

... Finally, Toriel smiles. "You are truly one of a kind, child."

 **'*You won!'**

"I... won?" Reimu questions, staring at the screen confusedly before it disappears from her sight. _By 'sparing' her or whatever that was? How does that work?_

"It is as you say: even if you stayed here with me, you would not lead a happy life," Toriel says, "I would only be trapping you. Besides, you are actually not like the others. Those powers you possess... With them, you might stand a chance against the dangers outside the Ruins. While it pains me... I will let you go, and hope at least you will make it in the Underground."

In response, Reimu smiles at her with a confident look on her face. "Just you watch: I'll make it for sure. I've got to." Reimu thinks back to her shrine, Gensokyo, and the incident she had intended to stop before falling into the Ruins. Her convictions strengthen. "So, don't be sad and root for me, I guess."

... Toriel chuckles, albeit weakly. "I will consider it, dear child." Afterwards, she faces the door leading further into the Ruins. "Now, I suppose I must guide you to the exit."

Reimu nods before they both start walking, both with fairly hopeful expression on their faces... Reimu wonders what is beyond the Ruins: while Toriel did not speak highly of the rest of the Underground, Reimu finds herself curious about it regardless. _I guess that's what I'm gonna see now..._

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

There aren't that many rooms within the Ruins, Reimu notes. With Toriel's guidance, Reimu was able to arrive to Toriel's house faster than she thought, and is now already downstairs, walking through a long corridor. She thinks back on the puzzles she saw: they weren't too hard, but definitely not something she wanted to deal with. _At least Toriel solved them all for me..._

After a while, she is facing a big, purple door, and Toriel merely stands there, staring at her. "Well, we have arrived. This door will lead you out of the Ruins," Toriel informs, though the sad tone in her voice is easy to spot. She remains silent...

"... Are you sure about this, child?" Toriel asks in a last attempt to convince Reimu.

Naturally, it fails, and Reimu just nods. "I'm perfectly sure, Toriel," Reimu responds, "I'm not about to back down now." Reimu takes a step towards the door. Toriel flinches.

Before Reimu can even process it, she is hugged by Toriel. Reimu's eyes widen in shock at the gesture, having never experienced this sort of situation before: most youkai are too proud to go hugging others like that (if they even wanted to do such a thing in the first place). Reimu utters nothing, and simply stares on awkwardly as Toriel lets go and distances herself from her. "Please... Be safe, dear child. Goodbye."

With that, Toriel quickly walks away, as if to make sure Reimu wouldn't be able to say anything. "H-hey...!" While Reimu tries calling out to her, Toriel is already too far from Reimu to respond.

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

Seeing as Toriel had undoubtedly done that on purpose, Reimu crosses her arms. "Geez..." Despite showing herself irritated at the situation, when she faces the door, Reimu smiles. Afterwards, Reimu slowly pushes the fairly heavy doors open.

However, ahead of her is only another long hallway. Reimu sighs. "More walking, huh..." She hears the door closing behind her as she starts moving forward, unsure of what to expect. What is the Underground, exactly? Why is it sealed? Who is Asgore?

Finally, she reaches another door. "She could've just guided me over here if I still had to walk all this distance..." Reimu mumbles before mustering more of her strength to push said door open.

... Unfortunately, what she finds beyond it is not pleasant. "Howdy!" Going inside the dark room, Reimu narrows her eyes and assumes a defensive stance. "To be honest, you really got me there with that 'Fantasy Seal' stuff," Flowey remarks with a conversational smile, "I didn't think you had it in you. No one here has that kind of power, you know? And it's a strong one, to boot."

Despite his words, his face starts decaying into a twisted frown, his eyes larger yet more purposely devoid of emotion than before, just to throw Reimu off. _"Which is why you're so utterly **DISAPPOINTING,"**_ he states before his face goes back to normal, and he smirks smugly. "Seriously, you _SPARED_ that old hag? When you could've teared her to bloody pieces? **BOOORING.** If a strong one was going to fall down here, it'd at least be much more fun if they weren't a tree-hugging IDIOT." Flowey's cheerful expression returns. "Oh well." Unable to shrug, Flowey merely glances to the side innocently as though these circumstances simply couldn't be helped. "Even if you did surprise me back there, I guess I shouldn't have expected much from you to begin with."

"I don't care what you think," Reimu immediately asserts, "I do whatever I want, starting with exterminating you!" Reimu is already grasping five amulets in one hand, smiling confidently at Flowey. "Don't think you're getting away this time!"

Flowey seems unfazed with Reimu's threat, though that also fails to bother Reimu. "You..." Two amulets are dodged. "Wish...!" And so are the three needles right afterwards. "Hee hee hee..." A Ying-yang orb is sent flying towards him at high speeds but Flowey only burrows into the ground and re-appears after the orb returned to its master. "Nice try." His smug expression makes Reimu glare at him, actually feeling annoyed with his presence. "Seriously though, don't you remember what I told you? In this world, it's kill or BE killed," Flowey utters, "So, instead of playing by your own dumb rules, how about you start working on that? Before somebody else takes the initiative, that is..."

Flowey laughs, and Reimu takes that chance to throw ten more amulets at him. He still manages to dodge them; Reimu frowns. "I'd beat them to the ground before they'd have a chance," Reimu responds, "including you." Reimu would've thrown more amulets at Flowey, but she has already figured that wouldn't be worth it.

"Oh, I don't need to do ANYTHING to you... for now." Flowey playfully winks, knowing the extent of his implications and hoping to taunt an already riled up Reimu. "I only have to wait, and wait, and wait... until it all comes together. Or until you die, who knows? We both can't SAVE anything anyway." _SAVE...?_ Reimu questions in her mind, unable to comprehend his words.

However, before she could voice said question, Flowey burrows into the ground, disappearing from Reimu's sight. "Hey!" she reacts, angrily glaring at where Flowey had just been. "That weird flower..." she mumbles, "What does he even want...?"

 **. . .**

Reimu sighs. "I'll take care of him later." With a determined gaze, Reimu faces the door in front of her, slightly bigger than the one she went through to get to this room. "For now..." She pushes the door open, using a considerable amount of her strength.

"... I've gotta move forward, and find a way out of here."

From the other side of the door, the first things Reimu feels are a chilling wind running down her spine, and the determination to get past any obstacle.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

Holy shit, I actually wrote this, wow 0.0 I really hope I pulled this off well, since Touhou and Undertale are games with such good characters; I wouldn't want to have any of them OOC! Either way, as you can see, this crossover is about Reimu being in Frisk's position, and what would she do in that situation: why Reimu, you ask? While at first, I wanted to write a KHR crossover instead (you don't have to know what series I'm talking about ^^'), I figured that would be really boring because, in the end, most of the characters would go through this like a Pacifist run with almost no changes (except the select few that would go genocidal instead...). So, in the midst of that predicament, many mental images suddenly came to mind and gave me the idea of writing a Touhou crossover: I mean, you know Reimu, don't you? She practically beats up every monster she sees (well, most monsters, anyway) XD However, she doesn't kill them, so I found that to be the best thing in a story like this one since that would mean Reimu wouldn't kill anyone, but she wouldn't be completely pacifistic either.

Besides, her straightforward, dutiful yet somewhat curious and carefree personality just seemed really great to spice things up in the story, especially because that'd contrast a lot with the reactions characters get from a silent protagonist (and also because Reimu's personality is great in general). Basically, I really hope I didn't get Reimu wrong ^^' Seriously, I found myself wondering if Reimu would just, no matter what the situation, beat everyone up: while Curiosities of Lotus Asia shows that she totally does, she's also seen helping certain youkai too in other official work so I'm honestly gonna go with it depending on her mood or how serious the situation is (though she considers beating everyone up by default), making me (thankfully) have her not just beat Toriel to the ground the moment she sets her sights on her.

While I shouldn't have been surprised because he's one of my favorite characters in the game, I really enjoyed writing Flowey too: his self-awareness, combined with how emotionally versatile his 'facial' expressions can be in such an unsettling manner and his haughty attitude in general make him a fun character... however, I imagine no one (including me) would have fun actually talking with someone like Flowey; Reimu wasn't too thrilled either XD Since he seems pretty strong in-game, I also thought he'd be good at dodging stuff too, so he can totally match Reimu ^^ However, to be perfectly honest, the Ruins are the least fun area of the game (compared to the other areas), and Toriel is one of the characters I have least consideration for (note how I didn't say I disliked her; I don't dislike her at all): I don't know, I just can't bring myself to love her like everyone else somehow does. I mean, I like her because she has a certain amount of depth and is a kind individual but I don't _loooove_ her I couldn't feel that much of an emotional tie to her: we didn't have that much time to actually talk to Toriel. I didn't feel that much for her so uh... I think she's overrated? Please don't kill me, I don't hate her X.X

Whatever the case, I tried my damned best to write her properly regardless of my opinions, but I'm still really nervous as to whether I did a good job: she was really adamant about not wanting Frisk to leave the Ruins because she didn't want them to be targeted (since they were just an innocent, weak child), but I figured that maybe, because Reimu is noticeably strong, she'd accept it slightly better since she could fend for herself. However, I did make her still not be very keen on Reimu leaving, especially because Reimu, in her mind, is still just an innocent child: I think Toriel would consider Reimu a child because she's not only really young-looking, but Toriel herself is probably so old that someone Reimu's age comes off as a child to her, even though Reimu's (surprisingly) at least 21 years old. She never looks like it but omg, Reimu's an adult 0.0

I honestly wanted Reimu to see more parts of the Ruins and react to other stuff related to Toriel in the game, but it just wouldn't add up for Reimu not to react to Toriel implying she'd live in the Ruins from then on, so I really had no choice but to have her fight in the dummy room (as un-epic as that is). It admittedly sucked that it had to go that way since it would've been great to have her interact with Napstablook and the other monsters (like Froggit, Whimsum, Moldsmal... remember them...? ^^'), but it just wouldn't add up. Either way, I hope Toriel's fight with Reimu was satisfying enough despite the lack of actual narrated fighting: like, I seriously apologize but, though I wrote a considerable portion of it, the fight wasn't engaging enough to be shown like that! Besides, it was really tripping me up too in a lot of ways...

So yeah, instead, you got really small, vague scenes of what's happening in Gensokyo's side: the plot thickens... hopefully. I really hope I didn't screw anything up with Marisa and Aya... ;_; Beyond that, you may have noticed how I handled fighting in this story: in general, rather than taking out the gameplay fully and go for a realistic re-enacting of how the fights would go, I went for making a sort of set battle system like the Spellcard Battles, just so it would be more interesting to have Reimu get used to it and because it'd make certain parts of the game possible (for example, if Reimu were somehow murderous enough to end up fighting Sans, his tactics would actually work). However, I removed the buttons for FIGHT, ACT, ITEM and MERCY since it'd be really clunky and weird for Reimu to have to push buttons to do things in battle: because of that, her SOUL, when not in that square, is next to her HP gauge rather than inside one of the buttons.

Also, the black square is applied to Reimu because she is a human, and monsters attack the SOUL directly (at least, in my head they do); this is why they don't have squares of their own (since, by hitting them, you're automatically hitting their SOUL seeing as their bodies are mostly comprised of magic and aren't, uh... physical). Beyond that, notable changes I did were establishing a 'no actions (as in, the actions you'd be able to perform with the buttons in the original menu) in the middle of an opponent's turn' to make in-game events even more plausible (however, it seems like Reimu has a very specific exception...? 8D) and ignoring timelines altogether (pfft, what do you mean, 'Undertale is at the very least set after 2010'?). Hopefully you'll get behind these changes since, without them the crossover wouldn't work; I just really had to take some liberties here.

... Wow, I seriously rambled on. Anyway, after the Ruins is Snowdin and damn, I freaking love Snowdin so I hope you're looking forward to it as much as me!

 **Best deleted sentence of this chapter:** "Do you even know what I could do with you inside me?"

I was seriously about to write that in Flowey's dialogue without realizing it, as I was taking the conversation in a whole different direction at the time; it's glorious, I know XDD


	2. Chapter 2

**First Words:**

* * *

 **Guest - Well, considering Flowey's dialogue in-game, he's always had a thing for killing everyone in painful ways so I didn't actually intend to write him as especially sadistic... Reimu's already OP enough for this story, having Yuuka fall down would just break it completely ^^'**

Anyway, color me surprised because I never thought I would get such a positive reception for this story, especially from just the first chapter: this has 12 favorites and 20 followers already, to which I am definitely grateful! At the same time, I'm super nervous now because Undertale and Touhou are such great series that I'm afraid I'll screw something up ;_; But, well, putting that aside, I'm going to tell you straight up that this story's uploading schedule won't be very consistent, mostly because I'll only be uploading a chapter whenever the one after it is finished (in this case, I finished Chapter 3 so I uploaded Chapter 2).

Stuff about idiots and colds is mentioned in this chapter, and that's referring to the saying about idiots being unable to catch colds, in case you aren't aware of this. I found myself struggling with Sans's creepy font in this story, but I managed to get a passable replacement (I'm so glad I've got Japanese keyboard settings): speaking of that, yeah, get ready for obnoxious capslock and lower-case first letters. Also, any and all puns are for your cringing pleasure ^^

Either way, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Cold in Both Body and Humor**

* * *

... Reimu shivers. "Agh, it's so cold here...!" Not only that, but her attire is anything but suited for cold temperatures, making her situation worse: it wasn't like she could've accounted for this location beforehand.

Reimu sneezes. "Ugh..." She looks down at her exposed legs, regretting she only has a skirt (that only reaches her knees) protecting them. "This sucks..." Despite no longer feeling as determined as before, Reimu walks forward, along the snowy path. There are only tall trees surrounding said path, and the eerie silence makes the temperature and creepiness of the forest be further focused on.

Suddenly, Reimu hears a sound from behind her. She immediately turns around with a serious gaze, but spots nothing. She keeps staring in that direction for a while before facing forward again, now with a much more cautious stance despite the cold temperature. As she walks, Reimu can't help but feel uneasy.

That noise seemed to have been footsteps, only audible because of the snow: while Reimu wouldn't rule out the possibility of having misheard it, it certainly didn't seem that plausible. She sees a branch with almost the width of the narrow road, but she finds that it's too cold to bother curiously pointing it out.

Before she could consider flying away from the area, Reimu hears the same sound again. While, up ahead, Reimu could already spot a bridge with a strange... grid-like structure over it, she leaves commenting aside in favor of finding whoever is following her. "Who's there?!" She turns around, her legs noticeably shaking from the cold as she attempts to see through the trees to find anyone. "You better show yourself, or else...!" Even so, Reimu does her best to look at least somewhat intimidating, already with two amulets in one of her hands.

 ** _"Ｏｒ ｅｌｓｅ ｗｈａｔ．．．？_** ** _"_**

"Woah!" Reimu flinches, startled at the voice she heard from behind her, which hadn't been where she heard the footsteps at all. She turns around, towards the bridge, only to find a skeleton grinning at her with his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

Unlike Reimu, the skeleton is appropriately dressed for the temperature of the area, further souring her mood (especially when considering the skeleton probably can't feel the cold). "gotcha," the skeleton utters, and winks (somehow) afterwards.

"... You wanted to see me angry, didn't you?" The amount of amulets in Reimu's hand increases by 3 as she disdainfully glares at him, suddenly finding it much easier to deal with the cold now that she is distracted with his presence.

The skeleton shrugs. "not really but hey, suit yourself... preferably with warmer clothes this time."

... Reimu's right eye twitches. At the same time, all the amulets are thrown in the skeleton's direction at lightning speeds. Reimu's eyes narrow at the fact that the skeleton successfully dodged all of them somehow, still grinning at her. "There's no way you're _not_ asking for it."

"nope. definitely not askin' for it," he responds, "if anything, i don't want to have to dodge those again. so, uh. no hard feelings?" Reimu raises an eyebrow skeptically, unconvinced. The skeleton winks. "wouldn't want you acting all cold around me, after all."

 **Badum-tss!**

... A ying-yang orb floats around Reimu threateningly. "hey, no need to take it that seriously. i just wanted to lighten things up. doesn't look like it worked though." The skeleton takes his right hand out of his pocket and stretches it out towards Reimu. Reimu takes one step back in response, as if to make it clear how much she _doesn't_ want to give him a handshake. "not feelin' up to it, huh? all right then." The skeleton shrugs. "anyway, i'm sans. sans the skeleton. you're a human, right? that's hilarious."

"And why is that hilarious?" Reimu asks, staring at him blankly with a displeased frown.

"because i just happen to be a sentry that's supposed be watching out for them," Sans answers, "and here you are." Suddenly, his practically permanent grin starts looking more eerie to Reimu.

With a determined expression, she takes out three amulets. "Great that you find that hilarious, because you're not the one who's gonna laugh last."

 **'*You challenge Sans to a FIGHT.'**

"hey hey, i never said i wanted to fight ya, did i?"

 **'*Sans escaped.'**

And just like that, all the screens that had appeared fade away immediately, leaving Reimu slightly confused. _So you can escape these fights?_ "you've gotta listen to the whole explanation first," Sans says, "or else, you get mix ups like these." Reimu focuses on Sans again.

"You're lecturing me now?" _What's his deal anyway?_ Reimu thinks with a bitter gaze, noticing how cold the forest is again.

"i'm pretty sure i was just giving you friendly advice," Sans casually states, "like the good pal i am."

"Since when did we become friends?"

Sans winks. "just now."

... Reimu sighs, and notices her breath, visible due to the temperature. "Whatever," she utters, "Anyway, what do you even want?"

"well, supposedly, i should be fighting you right now so i can capture and deliver you to the capital and all that fun stuff," Sans explains, "but truth is, i don't care about capturing anybody."

Reimu smiles deviously. "Or basically, you're a slacker."

"nah, i work plenty hard," Sans counters, "down to the bone, that is."

 **Badum-tss!**

... Reimu stops being able to tell if she's cringing or shivering from the cold. "heh, and you don't even crack a smile." While Sans doesn't expect everyone to like his jokes (in fact, he can expect that as much as he does otherwise), he does note that Reimu's mood is especially sour, probably due to her current circumstances. He was hoping to improve said mood, but the approach he knows best seems to be failing.

"That's because it's not funny at all," Reimu bluntly asserts, "You gotta try harder than that."

Sans shrugs. "welp. maybe one day. trying hard isn't really my specialty." Reimu doubts Sans could ever say something that would make her laugh, but due to that, she also finds herself wondering how he would pull that off if he were truly willing to... "but back to what i was saying, i don't care about capturing anybody, so i'd be up to letting you go on and pretend i didn't see anything if i could. unfortunately for you, it just so happens that my brother, papyrus—"

 **"SANS?!"** Both Reimu and Sans immediately focus on the bridge when they hear that loud voice, though only Sans knows who it belongs to. "WHERE ARE YOU, SANS?! SERIOUSLY, CAN HE GET ANY LAZIER? HE CAN'T JUST BE MISSING WHEN HE'S GOT A DUTY AS IMPORTANT AS WATCHING FOR HUMANS...! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CAPTURE ONE IF I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THEY ARE?!"

 **. . .**

"... Was that your brother?" Reimu asks, seemingly curious.

"yup," Sans responds, "as you can see, he really wants to capture a human. badly." Sans then points at Reimu. "and there's no other human in the underground but you, buddy."

Crossing her arms, Reimu smiles confidently. "If he tries, he'll be in for a beating, just saying."

"... OR WAIT, COULD IT BE THAT HE'S MISSING..."

"eh, c'mon. don't be like that. papyrus is actually a really cool dude if you get to know him." Reimu gives Sans a skeptic look. "honest."

"... BECAUSE HE WAS AMBUSHED BY A HUMAN?!"

"so, it'd be really great if you could a favor for me," Sans offers, "y'know, like the good pal you are."

"NOOOO! SANS...! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!"

Reimu frowns. "I have a feeling that favor isn't going to be pleasant. Besides, I never said we were friends. Why should I be doing you any favors?"

Loud sobbing is heard from beyond the bridge. "well, it'd make my bro really happy," Sans says, "and he's been kind of down lately. what, you don't like being a nice person?"

"... HOWEVER, WORRY NOT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SAVE YOU, SANS!"

"Being nice has got nothing to do with it," Reimu protests, slightly flustered at the fact that Sans is challenging her goodwill. However, since that also means that he is underestimating her, she glares at him. "You're all just youkai anyway, evil to the core! If anything, I should've already exterminated you, you weird skeleton!" Afterwards, she finds herself sighing tiredly at the situation. "Ugh, everything's so different here..."

"... OR AVENGE YOU, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU'RE DOING. REGARDLESS!"

"huh. i never thought culture shock could get someone that cranky... or murderous in general. dunno where you're from, but i think you and your people gotta work out those 'extermination' issues someday," Sans remarks, "but hey, i caught you hesitating. you gotta be at least a bit inclined to say yes to that favor. it'll be fun." Sans spots Reimu narrowing her eyes thoughtfully. "it'll make you think my bro's the coolest." Reimu stares at him blankly. "no? well, it'll still be fun though. i mean, if you really don't feel like it, you can just back out. i'm not gonna stop you. but it'd still be pretty nice if you did this for me and my bro."

"NO MATTER WHO IT IS, I WILL DEFEAT THE HUMAN THAT AMBUSHED YOU, AND DELIVER THEM TO THE CAPITAL! FOR YOUR SAKE, SANS!"

 **. . .**

Reimu's frown deepened. "Fine... if you insist _that_ much, I guess I'll do it." Reimu glances to the side, seemingly troubled over having ultimately accepted to do something without any actual necessity for it, and more out of Sans's persistence indicating said favor would actually truly matter to him. Even so, she figures, she might as well seeing as she doesn't know where to go for now to cross the barrier, so it's not like she could make much progress by just leaving Sans. Somehow, afterwards, Reimu has a feeling Sans's grin, though it hadn't left him before, seems much more genuine now.

"heh, thanks," Sans says, and starts focusing on the bridge, where Papyrus' loud voice could be clearly heard from.

Reimu gazes at it in a somewhat nonchalant manner with her arms crossed, finding herself getting more used to the cold after some time of getting exposed to it. "So, what am I supposed to do?"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"Hey, Sanae!" Marisa calls from above the ground, flying with her broom. She figured searching for Sanae on a mountain by foot would be tough, which led her to decide flying. Marisa swiftly lands on the ground and steps closer to Sanae. "There you are!"

"Ms. Marisa?" Sanae shows herself somewhat surprised at Marisa's presence and words, but immediately afterwards, her expression turns curious. "You've been looking for me?"

"Yup," Marisa casually acknowledges. "I heard you took care of all this."

Sanae nods proudly. "I sure did. However, I have to admit it wasn't as challenging as previous incidents," Sanae states, "at least, battle-wise. In terms of diplomacy, this whole thing is enough to give me a headache... and here I thought incidents were all about exterminating youkai."

"Well, they still are," Marisa says, "But ya can't help the troublesome aftermath; it's all complicated business when it comes to incidents. At least we get a party afterwards, and all that tends to get taken care of alright. So, found anything interesting in this mountain?"

Sanae gives her an awe-struck look, as if finding Marisa's question strange. "You're asking me if I found anything interesting there? Why are you even asking something like that? Of course I found interesting things there; it's practically full of them! It's a civilization in there, you know? If you're curious, I recommend you see it for yourself: the mountain was undoubtedly the best part of solving this incident."

"Heh, that sounds real great; I'll definitely have to take a look later," Marisa remarks and grins at the prospect of all sorts of new and interesting objects. However, she then reminds herself of another topic she wanted to ask Sanae about. "But, speaking of this incident, did you see Reimu around here?"

Sanae blinks curiously. "Huh? Ms. Reimu? Not at all, actually. Why do you ask?"

"You don't think it's weird Reimu didn't show up at all to take care of this incident?" Marisa asks. "She always comes around and beats everyone up, but this time, she's nowhere; it doesn't add up."

"Hmmm... Perhaps she's just ill."

"No way," Marisa immediately denied with an easy-going smile, "Not even a fever could stop her... or at least, I've never seen her backing out of anything from being sick. Now that I think about it, I rarely see her sick in the first place. I guess what they say about idiots and colds is not too far off..."

"If she were here, you wouldn't have gotten away with that," Sanae points out with a smile, finding Marisa's words somewhat funny.

Marisa shrugs. "It's just a joke," she asserts, "and it's not like she wouldn't make a nastier one right at me for revenge so, figuratively, we're even."

"I don't doubt that either." Sanae glances towards a certain direction, one Marisa could recognize as the way to Youkai Mountain. "Whatever the case, if you're looking for Ms. Reimu, shouldn't you check her shrine? I would assume that's where she is if she didn't come here. Anyway, I've got things to report to Lady Kanako so I'll see you later."

With that, Sanae flies away at a moderate speed, incomparable to how fast Marisa would usually travel. "The shrine, huh..." Marisa stares off into the distance. Afterwards, she smiles in a carefree manner. "Guess that was obvious. Well, gotta go check on Reimu...!"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

A somewhat tattered Sans slowly crosses the bridge, needles stuck between his bones, and others sticking out from his clothes. A red substance pours from within Sans, further capitalizing on how close to death he is. That hadn't actually been a part of the plan: that was just the result of Sans telling Reimu what he wanted to do. It was truly miraculous that Sans didn't lose his life with Reimu roughening him up only because, "It wouldn't be realistic otherwise, would it?" The devious smile she had on her face when she said that only emphasized how much Reimu did not really care about anything being realisitic, but Sans had no room for argument in light of that statement...

... Either way, as he approached his sentry station, Sans could spot his brother leaving the area. **_"Ｐａｐｙｒｕｓ．．．_** ** _"_** he weakly calls out, though the eerie voice could be clearly heard within the silence of the forest. Papyrus turns arounds, agitated.

"S-SANS?!" Papyrus reacts. "OH MY GOD, SANS, YOUR KETCHUP STASH IS LEAKING OUT! THIS IS REALLY BAD!" Unsure of what to do in this situation, Papyrus flails his arms around in panic, having never found his brother so injured before. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?! IT WAS A HUMAN, WASN'T IT?! THOSE SNEAKY LITTLE SNAILS! DON'T WORRY, SANS! I WILL AVENGE YOU, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!"

 _Well, that's my cue,_ Reimu thinks before practically jumping out the trees she was hiding in and revealing herself to Papyrus and Sans. "Will you now?" While she was supposed to act in a condescending manner, Reimu ended up sounding fairly neutral instead: she isn't the best of actresses when she isn't invested. "I really doubt that."

 **. . .**

... Papyrus freezes at the sight of Reimu, leaving her to stare at him skeptically.

 **. . .**

... Reimu can only consider what he does afterwards to be a spasm attack of epic proportions. "Uh... Hey..." Reimu awkwardly calls out.

 **. . .**

... Papyrus stands up straight as if nothing happened, and clears his throat. "SO THE HUMAN COMES OUT OF HER OWN VOLITION, THINKING SHE CAN STAND A CHANCE AGAINST THE GREAT PAPYRUS! HOWEVER, SHE COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG!" He points at her dramatically, but Reimu remains unfazed. "HUMAN! FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO MY BROTHER, I WILL MAKE YOU FACE PUZZLES OF THE LIKES YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE! YOU WILL BE AMAZED! YOU WILL BE SHOCKED! YOU WILL BE IN AWE OF THE GREAT GENIUS THAT IS PAPYRUS, AND ADMIT YOUR DEFEAT BEFORE ME! THAT WAY, I WILL AVENGE SANS, AND THEN CAPTURE YOU SO I CAN DELIVER YOU TO THE CAPITAL!"

From that speech, Reimu skeptically glances at Sans, who merely shrugs at her. "AND... AFTER I DELIVER YOU TO THE CAPITAL...! WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S NEXT, BUT IT WILL SURELY BE QUITE THE EXPERIENCE FOR YOU, HUMAN!" Papyrus faces Sans. "NOW, SANS, LET'S GO! I WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR WOUNDS!"

"uh, i'd rather not," Sans speaks up, "i wouldn't wanna turn into a whole different monster because of ya. besides, i've got hot dogs." Sans takes one out of a pocket of his shorts and eats it fairly quickly, to the point of said action being difficult to process right in the moment. Somehow, there are no signs of the food passing through his body, even though he is a skeleton. However, that isn't the part that Reimu is most focused on: Reimu stares in awe at the fact that all tattered parts spotted in Sans are magically recovering. _How does that work...?_ "barely having any hp has its perks, bro. i can eat whatever i want and still get a full recovery. neat, huh?"

 **. . .**

"... OH. I FORGOT ABOUT THAT," Papyrus admits. "WELL, IN ANY CASE, I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU'RE ALRIGHT, SANS! NOW, WITH YOU ON BOARD, CAPTURING THE HUMAN WILL BECOME EVEN EASIER THAN IT ALREADY WAS WITH JUST ME DOING IT!"

Reimu narrows her eyes, irritated. "You know, you've really been talking big for a while," she comments, "If you keep it up, I'll seriously get mad." Reimu brandishes 15 amulets and glances at Sans as he takes the remaining few needles that he had stuck to him off. "Usually, youkai that underestimate me are beaten to the ground."

... While Papyrus still seems like he is smiling proudly, a hint of hesitation is noticeable on his expression. "L-LET'S NOT GET TOO HASTY, HUMAN! WE'VE YET TO TRULY START OUR SHOWDOWN! IT WOULD BE IMPROPER FOR YOU TO ATTACK ME JUST LIKE THAT! HAVE YOU NO MANNERS?!" The appearance of 2 ying-yang orbs evidences his question. "IT SEEMS LIKE I HAVE NO CHOICE THEN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL HAVE TO SHOW YOU HOW THINGS WORK AROUND HERE! HOWEVER, ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH TO FACE SUCH DANGER, HUMAN...?! IT WILL SURELY NOT BE EASY FOR YOU! SO, STEP FORWARD, IF YOU DARE...! NYE HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Somehow, Papyrus is able to fully regain his overwhelming confidence again despite Reimu still looking fairly intimidating, and turns to Sans. "NOW, SANS, WE MUST GO AND PREPARE EVERYTHING!" Despite that, Sans remains in his spot even while Papyrus motions him to move and walks a few steps forward. "COME ON, SANS! DON'T BE A LAZYBONES AND GET MOVING!"

"well, alright," Sans utters and faces Reimu, "see ya around, i guess." He waves at her as he leaves, following behind a surprisingly quick Papyrus.

Meanwhile, Reimu stands in the same spot for a moment, considering what just happened. _So, that skeleton wants to capture me and send me to this Capital place?_ "That'll never happen," Reimu confidently states with a smile. "He'll definitely get what's coming for him with that attitude!"

With that, Reimu walks forward, glancing at the sentry-station only once before leaving the area. In front of her are two paths she can choose to traverse: one in front of her, and one to her left. Thoughtfully, Reimu takes a few steps forward before encountering a box. It seems out-of-place in the forest, so Reimu decides to read the sign next to it.

'This is a box. You can put an item inside or take one out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back.

Sincerely,

a box lover.'

Reimu keeps staring blankly at the sign for a while... _That's an awfully suspicious box. Who'd ever put their stuff here?_ "I sure wouldn't," Reimu mutters before turning around... and seeing a black screen hovering in front of her.

 **'*Snowdrake flutters forth!'**

"Huh?!" In front of her is indeed a monster, whose head somewhat resembles a snowflake. To Reimu, it seems like a strange combination of a dragon and various snow-related elements. "What do you want?!" Reimu immediately pulls out five amulets.

"Whoa, CHILL! SNOW fun if you act that COLD!" Snowdrake exclaims and gazes at Reimu expectantly afterwards. "Get it...?!"

 **. . .**

... Somehow, out of five amulets, 25 needles were thrown at Snowdrake. "I get that you need to be exterminated, that's what! How about you stop interrupting people minding their business just to tell them bad jokes?" _Seriously, what's up with this snowy place and bad jokes?_ Reimu wonders curiously for a moment before frowning at Snowdrake.

It's his turn, so Reimu could not actually do anything but wait for it to end. Snowdrake seems close to tearing up. "D... Dad was right after all...!" When tears do pour out from his eyes, Reimu's soul reflexively dodges the horizontal rows of boomerang-like projectiles before doing the same for the vertical ones.

It is now Reimu's turn. "You better have learned your lesson from this, you weird monster!"

 **'*You spare Snowdrake.'**

 **'*You won!'**

With that, Reimu simply heads towards the path in front of her, somewhat in a sour mood, while Snowdrake stares at her confusedly, wondering why Reimu had spared him. While the thought of his jokes being insulted made him legitimately teary-eyed, Snowdrake still couldn't help but be somewhat in awe at Reimu, who actually didn't intend to exterminate him at all. "What a... COOL person."

... The fact that Reimu is now too far away to hear those words is only for the best in regards to both parties. "Geez, all these monsters might just be weirder than Gensokyo's..." Reimu mumbles.

"HUMAN!"

"Huh?" Focusing on her surroundings, Reimu finds Papyrus and Sans blocking the path, right in front of her. "Oh, it's just you." Reimu immediately lets her guard down, and sees Sans waving at her; she does not wave back. "What do you want now?"

Papyrus shakes his skull disapprovingly. "SEE THAT ATTITUDE, SANS? TRULY THE MARK OF A HUMAN UNEDUCATED IN FIGHTING ETIQUETTE. SAD, ISN'T IT?"

"i'm pretty sure she's just like that because she doesn't like you," Sans nonchalantly points out.

"NONSENSE! WHY WOULD SHE NOT LIKE ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS?!"

"maybe because you want to capture her and send her to the capital?"

"... GOOD POINT." Reimu crosses her arms, observing the conversation they were having. Suddenly, Papyrus focuses on her again. "HOWEVER...! DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY, HUMAN. I AM MERELY CAPTURING YOU TO FULFILL MY GREATEST AMBITION! WITH YOU CAPTURED, EVERYONE CAN FINALLY RECOGNIZE ME AS WORTHY OF BEING IN THE ROYAL GUARD! HOPEFULLY YOU UNDERSTAND THAT."

"I don't really care about your ambitions or the Royal Guard," Reimu bluntly states, "And I'm definitely not gonna get myself caught on purpose because of them. I just wanna get out of this place."

"I NEVER TOLD YOU TO GET YOURSELF CAUGHT ON PURPOSE! WHAT SORT OF MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD WOULD I BE IF I COULDN'T CATCH YOU MYSELF? NOT A COOL ONE, THAT'S FOR SURE!" Papyrus points to himself. "NO! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD NEVER STOOP SO LOW! I DO THINGS THE PROPER WAY: NAMELY, GIVING YOU AWESOME PUZZLES TO SOLVE!"

"Since when are puzzles part of a fight?" Reimu asks, unconvinced. "I don't think I'm the one who doesn't know fighting etiquette or whatever."

While Reimu is aware that puzzles are something this civilization seems to hold in high regard, she still finds it idiotic to have them be part of a fight. "THE PUZZLES ARE MERELY PART OF THE PROCEDURE! THEY COME BEFORE THE EPIC SHOWDOWN! YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HOW THINGS WORK AROUND HERE. IT'S HONESTLY PITIFUL, HUMAN! WELL, NOW THAT YOU'RE GETTING CAPTURED BY ME, YOU'LL BE TAUGHT ALL THE IMPORTANT DETAILS OF PROPER FIGHTING!" While Reimu feels like exterminating him, Papyrus seems visibly excited. He is happy, Reimu notes, just like Sans wanted. "NYE HEH HEH HEH HEH! JUST YOU WAIT, HUMAN! THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME, YOU WILL NOT ONLY BE FACING AN INGENIOUS PUZZLE, BUT ALSO ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED ABOUT FIGHTS BY ME, MASTER MENTOR PAPYRUS!"

Papyrus turns around, preparing to leave. "LOOK FORWARD TO IT!" With those words, he quickly walks off, leaving Sans behind.

"... Isn't he getting side-tracked?" Reimu wonders out loud, realizing how he really isn't supposed to want to help her out in any way. _I don't even want his help... If anything, I bet I'd know more about fights than he does._

Sans nods. "he sure is," he acknowledges, "but i don't care either way, and he's looking really happy now that he's found you. guess i owe ya one, buddy."

Reimu stares straight at Sans for a moment, seeing him grin at her. He gazes at her in a similar manner, as if looking through her. "Well, if this is actually helping you out, great," she responds with a rather casual tone even though she is currently wearing a small smile on her face, unable to contain her positive feelings that well. She does feel proud of herself for seemingly doing something she set out to do successfully, even if it happens to be a simple favor, and she can't help but feel satisfied at receiving feelings of gratitude from others. However, the fact that she is doing a favor for a youkai, and being thanked by one makes her slightly conflicted. Either way, in the midst of those thoughts, Reimu reminds herself of something. "Hey, by the way, I got attacked by a monster a while ago... its name was 'Snowdrake', I think?" If more time had passed, Reimu would've surely forgotten the name.

"you met snowdrake?" Sans asks, "cool. great kid, isn't he? he's a natural."

Reimu gives him a blank look, and notes that Sans must have uttered the word 'cool' just so he could make ice-related puns. "I knew you were acquainted..."

"what gave it away? let me guess. it was the hilarious jokes." Sans winks.

Reimu smiles deviously in response. "The really bad jokes, you mean," she counters. "Anyway, tell him that's he's coming off too strong: not everyone's up to listening to him, especially if they're busy or something. Otherwise, it's pretty obnoxious... more obnoxious than the jokes themselves."

"will do," Sans simply responds. However, after a moment of silence, he speaks up, "i have to admit. i had my doubts when i first saw you, but it looks like you're not so bad after all. you should really get over the violent tendencies though. that kind of thing's not good for anybody."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reimu questions, somewhat irritated at the offense.

"it means you're probably a nice pal," Sans says, "that's all." Sans stretches his arm out to Reimu, like when they first met. "so let's start over, all right? i'm sans. sans the skeleton. and you are?"

For a while, Reimu thoughtfully gazes at his hand, only comprised of bones. "I'm..." Reluctantly, slowly, Reimu raises her own hand at his hand's level. "Reimu Hakurei." Taking his cold, hard hand, and watching as Sans gave her a handshake, Reimu's expression turns confident. "And you better not forget it."

With that, Reimu lets go of his hand and walks away, a seemingly determined expression on her face. For a while, Sans leaves his left hand at the same position, as if Reimu were still shaking it: there is nothing on that hand.

 **. . .**

Sans narrows his eye sockets as he slowly puts that hand back into the left pocket of his jacket. "heh..."

He takes his right hand out of his pocket, and stares at the whoopee cushion on it. "guess i'll have to figure out a better use for you later." Sans then looks up at the sky. "and here i thought i didn't care about keepin' a mood." He shrugs, not really caring either way. Finding nothing else noteworthy in the area, Sans turns to the opposite direction Reimu headed towards.

As he takes his shortcut, Sans wonders why he had to voice his thoughts aloud...

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Not long after setting out for Papyrus, who shouldn't have been that far ahead of her, Reimu spots a sign, followed by some sort of stand. Curious, Reimu reads the sign:

'Absolutely NO MOVING!'

... Without a care in the world, Reimu keeps moving forward regardless of that warning. When she passes by the stand, she suddenly hears a sound and stops to look at where it came from. Turning to the side, she spots a dog-like monster with a bone-shaped candy of sorts in its mouth (or at least, that is what it looks like to Reimu), its eyes narrowed and constantly glancing to the left and right. "Did I just see something moving?"

Reimu finds herself realizing that the sign is that dog monster's doing and frowns at him, displeased. "Even if I did move, you don't have the right to stop me from doing that anyway!" Reimu aims ten amulets at the dog before she even challenges him to a proper fight, and all of them hit the dog before he can even react to Reimu's words. "If anything, you shouldn't even have the right to stop anyone from moving as they please."

The dog monster only doesn't answer her because he is currently unconscious, so Reimu simply returns to following the path she is on as if nothing happened. Nearby, she finds strange, bone-shaped candy like the one the dog had in his mouth previously: for some reason, there are signs of them having been _lit_ before. Reimu decides not to question it, and faces the path again.

 **'*Ice Cap struts into view!'**

"Another one...?" Reimu looks down at the tiny monster, its hat so tall that it reaches Reimu's chest in terms of height. "Well, you... have a pretty big hat." _Can its body even hold that much weight?_

At the mere fact that Reimu mentioned his hat, Ice Cap gives her an expectant, yet prideful look. "It's PERFECT, right?"

"Not really," Reimu admits with an apprehensive smile, knowing she said something rude but not caring enough to take it back.

"What?! You've GOT to be kidding me!" Ice Cap responds, clearly unsatisfied with Reimu's answer. "How can you not like my hat?!"

Reimu pulls ten amulets out. "Like this!" Having thrown them at Ice Cap afterwards, his remaining HP becomes 5, scaring the monster. While Reimu has noticed HP is probably the equivalent of how much one can hold out in a battle, she has also found that she doesn't need to deplete it to win one, so she doesn't bother doing it; it'd be a pointless effort, after all (especially since the battles involved her beating the monsters up anyway).

With that, Reimu's turn ends. Perhaps because its state of mind isn't the best at present, Ice Cap's attack and pattern is especially easy to dodge, which Reimu can only frown at disappointingly. "Stop bothering everyone with your hat. If you think it's that great, you don't need to ask everyone about it."

 **'*You spare Ice Cap.'**

 **'*You won!'**

As Reimu starts walking again, she can hear Ice Cap huffing in disdain, but doesn't bother turning around. Instead, she completely focuses on what is ahead of her, spotting an icy pathway; advancing through it would be dangerous. _Wouldn't wanna slide on that..._ Reimu thinks before floating over that ice. While there is a sign at the center, she was somewhat able to read it as directions to various locations, which she figured she wouldn'ty need. Besides, as she lands, Reimu spots on the horizon a silhouette similar to Papyrus's, and another similar to Sans.

Confused at the fact that Sans is somehow up ahead, she gets closer at a faster pace so as to confirm this. However, seeing as there is a rather ominous-looking square with less snow than the rest separating her from them, Reimu decides not to step on it and stop at a considerable distance from it instead. That action makes Papyrus's conversation with Sans be interrupted, with Papyrus grinning excitedly at Reimu. "HUMAN!"

That shout indicates nothing but loud rambling to Reimu, so she frowns. While she is basically willing to help out (since she has no leads on how to cross the barrier, she might as well), Reimu does not at all appreciate being underestimated by Papyrus. "IT LOOKS LIKE YOU, AT LEAST, POSSESS THE BRAVERY TO FACE MY PUZZLES HEAD-ON! THAT IS A GREAT START. AFTER ALL, RULE NUMBER ONE OF DUELING INDICATES THAT IT IS IMPROPER TO FLEE FROM YOUR OPPONENT!"

"Sans did that to me, you know?" Reimu immediately points out, the memory of her fight being interrupted in such a way still fresh in her mind. However, finding herself slightly curious about Papyrus mentioning actual rules for dueling, Reimu looks around and notices a small book laid on the snow behind Papyrus. _He actually read a book about this..._

... Meanwhile, Papyrus turns to Sans. "SANS! DON'T BE A BAD INFLUENCE ON THE HUMAN! WHAT IF SHE NOW THINKS WE SKELETONS AREN'T COOL?!"

"well, didn't have much of a choice there. low stats and all." He casually shrugs. "wouldn't want to get done in for no reason. "

"THAT MAY BE TRUE FOR YOUR FLIMSY ENCOUNTERS, BUT IT SURE ISN'T PROPER FOR AN EPIC SHOWDOWN! CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE YOUR OPPONENT CASUALLY LEAVING YOU HANGING IN THE MIDDLE OF A DRAMATIC DUEL?! I CAN'T! AND THAT AUTOMATICALLY MEANS YOU SHOULDN'T EITHER!" Papyrus faces Reimu again, somehow unaware that Sans and Reimu outright informed Sans didn't make any effort to capture Reimu. "ANYWAY! HUMAN! NOW THAT I, MASTER MENTOR PAPYRUS, HAVE INFORMED YOU ON A BASIC PRINCIPLE OF FIGHTING ETIQUETTE, YOU MUST GO ON TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE YOU 'SEE' BEFORE YOU!"

... Reimu blankly gazes at Papyrus. "Can't I just fly over?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" _I guess I shouldn't have even bothered asking..._ "THAT WOULD BE CHEATING, AFTER ALL! AND CHEATING IS ALSO NOT TOLERATED! WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO BE CAPTURED FAIR AND SQUARE?"

Reimu doesn't bother pointing out the obvious. "What's this puzzle about?" Instead, she decides to focus on the puzzle, wanting to quickly move on from it.

Papyrus takes on a prideful stance immediately after hearing that question, as if he had been expecting it ever since he saw Reimu. "WELL, PREPARE TO BE SHOCKED, HUMAN, BECAUSE THIS IS THE DEADLY..." Papyrus pauses to make dramatic tension. "ELECTRICITY MAZE!"

 **. . .**

"I don't see anything electric here," Reimu asserts as she points to the square that is supposedly Papyrus's 'Electricity Maze'.

"OF COURSE YOU DON'T! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE THAT WAY!" Papyrus states, still in an especially good mood due to the occasion. "ALL OF THIS MAZE'S WALLS ARE INVISIBLE! YOU'LL ONLY KNOW THEY ARE THERE IF YOU TOUCH THEM! THOUGH... I DOUBT YOU'D WANT TO TRY THAT OUT." Despite being a skeleton, Papyrus somehow manages to glance to the side and then narrow his eye sockets deviously, in the same way Sans can somehow blink.

Having seen that sort of thing before, Reimu still decides on not questioning it. "In other words, I've got to somehow get through this maze thing without getting electrocuted?" Reimu questions, somewhat unconvinced. "That doesn't sound fair at all. How am I going to know the solution to this?"

"THAT'S SIMPLE, HUMAN: PERSEVERANCE!" Papyrus excitedly responds. "NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! BESIDES, YOUR ONLY REQUIREMENT TO BEAT THIS PUZZLE IS TO GET THROUGH IT ALIVE! IT SHOULDN'T BE TOO HARD FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU!" _That's not something you tell your enemy..._ Reimu thinks, but before she can voice said thought, Papyrus continues speaking, "NOW, GO ON! SOLVE IT, HUMAN!"

 **. . .**

For a while, Reimu stares at the square. "Well, alright then," Reimu mutters in an attempt to motivate herself to solve the puzzle in front of her. Seeing Papyrus, clearly more excited than anyone (that should be capturing Reimu rather than giving her puzzles and advice) about the situation, made Reimu sigh, as if spotting a hyperactive child (ironically, since she is most likely the younger one).

Letting the negativity out of her system by such actions, Reimu smiles in a determined manner and steps forward... only to hear a pained scream from Papyrus. In reaction to that, Reimu flinches and spots Papyrus, completely black in color as if turned to coal. "Hey, what happened?" Reimu asks, confused. _Did he just get electrocuted by his own puzzle somehow?_

After all, Papyrus is not in the square, so it makes no sense for Reimu that such a thing happened. "well..." Sans pauses, staring at a rather charred Papyrus. "looks like it wasn't the human who found the maze 'shocking'."

 **Badum-tss!**

"UGH, SANS!" Papyrus shouts right after he clears himself of the burn marks, more than irritated by not only the situation, but Sans's humor.

Sans winks. "what? you've got to admit. after you cracked those electricity jokes, that had tibia thing."

 **Badum-tss!**

... Sans's actions only make both Reimu and Papyrus stare at him in the same annoyed fashion. Noticing they had almost the exact same expressions, Reimu and Papyrus glance at each other before focusing on Sans again. "SANS! THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS! THE HUMAN IS SUPPOSED TO BE SOLVING THIS PUZZLE, NOT CRINGING AT YOUR JOKES!"

"whatever you say, bro." The fact that Sans so easily shrugs Papyrus's words off frustrates Papyrus further, though Sans is the first to speak up before he could hear him shouting again. "y'know, i'm pretty sure this all happened because you didn't give the orb to her."

"What orb?" Reimu immediately asks, still confused _. And here I thought I just had to figure out this maze thing... Should I just bail? Why do I even have to help out youkai anyway? That's not how it works!_ Even so, Reimu would just feel bad about escaping so suddenly, especially when it has been practically established that Reimu is going to do Sans's favor (Reimu wouldn't want to go back on her word). Besides, while it technically doesn't count due to the excuse she used, Reimu did beat up Sans, and it seems like she will also have to fight Papyrus eventually so she will, in essence, exterminate everybody involved in the end.

As she thinks about it, the only youkai she hasn't actually beaten up is Flowey. _That weird flower thing..._ Reimu narrows her eyes, displeased at the resurfacing memories of Flowey easily dodging all of her attacks. "THE ORB?" The only thing that snaps her out of those thoughts is Papyrus's voice, making her focus on him right away. "AH, YES, THE ORB!" As he says that, Papyrus takes out from within his clothes a blue orb. "STAY THERE, HUMAN!"

"Okay," Reimu utters while staring at Papyrus reaching the bottom corner of his side of the square and starting to walk a few steps forward until turning to the right. As Papyrus makes his way to Reimu, she notices that he is actually leaving footprints on the snowy ground, ones that are clearly visible.

... Reimu blankly stares at the puzzle's solution, slightly in awe of how someone could fail at giving people puzzles so badly. When he is right in front of her, Papyrus speaks up, "HOLD THIS, PLEASE!" However, for some reason, he throws the orb in the air, leaving Reimu to confusedly look up at it as it came down on her while Papyrus goes back to where he was standing before.

Having no more problems with the puzzle, Reimu catches the orb even though it happens to be the source of the puzzle's dangers: after all, she now knows the solution, so it doesn't make a difference either way. "I can go now, right?" Reimu asks, just in case.

"OF COURSE! GO ON, HUMAN!" Papyrus eagerly exclaims, gesturing for Reimu to move. _He's really all giddy about this, huh..._ Reimu remarks in her mind. _That's kind of dumb, but whatever._ Concluding that train of thought, Reimu smiles in a carefree manner before stepping forward.

When she is one step away from the square outlining the maze, Reimu immediately looks down and starts following Papyrus's footsteps. Somehow, even then, Papyrus does not seem to notice that they are there, and simply stares at Reimu in awe of her confident stride through the invisible walls of the maze, as if she knows exactly where to go.

... Which she does. At the precise moment she finishes going through the maze, Papyrus practically jumps in surprise. "Y-YOU DID IT! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!" Reimu raises an eyebrow at him, still doubting that he could have left those footprints by accident. "YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY!" Papyrus narrows his eye sockets. "TOO EASILY..." _He really didn't mean to give the solution out... That's amazing, in many ways._ "HOWEVER, DON'T THINK YOU HAVE BESTED ME YET! MANY CHALLENGES STILL AWAIT YOU, HUMAN! AND WITH THE PROGRESS YOU'RE ALREADY MAKING WHILE UNDER MY RIVETING TUTELAGE, YOU WILL BE PREPARED FOR THE SHOWDOWN AT THE END IN NO TIME!"

Papyrus narrows his eye sockets, his skull assuming a devious expression. "PREPARED TO LOSE, THAT IS! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!" Afterwards, Papyrus walks away... and comes back. "AND BY THAT, I MEAN YOU WILL LOSE IN A PROPER MANNER, OF COURSE! AFTER ALL, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM SHOWING YOU THE ROPES! IN ANY CASE, CONTINUE FORTH, HUMAN... I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT." Papyrus gives Reimu a thumbs up before truly walking away, leaving Reimu to stare at him blankly.

"... Is he joking with me?" Reimu decides to ask, not as irritated as she is confused. "Because I don't think I've ever met someone who acts like that towards their opponent."

"yeah, papyrus really is one of a kind," Sans responds, completely relaxed as he merely stands in a corner, as if he had always been there. However, Reimu knows for a fact Sans didn't go to Papyrus before her, making it strange he had somehow gotten to the area faster than her.

Even so, seeing as she had somewhat similar powers herself, Reimu can only assume Sans can teleport or float. "That he sure is..." Reimu mutters. "Well, it's not like that changes what I have to do, so I guess it shouldn't matter. Besides, I'm used to weirdos by now."

"that's the spirit."

"... Including you."

Sans winks. "i knew that."

After huffing dismissively in response, Reimu smiles in an optimistic manner and faces where Papyrus has gone towards. At a steady place, uncaring of the cold temperature, she simply walks straight forward, sparing Sans no more words. Sans is alright with that; he doesn't need any. Reimu is no different.

For now, without any leads on how to return home, Reimu simply focuses on doing what she was asked in a convicted manner.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

And so yes, it cuts off here! I originally planned for it to cut when Reimu reached Snowdin, but I felt there wouldn't be much to do but exploring the town and fighting Papyrus in Snowdin, so I thought filling the chapter with the rest of the puzzles was a good idea. I mean, while there are quite a few of them, Reimu manages to beat up her enemies really easily anyway, and it's not like I'm gonna go into microscopic detail when she's solving puzzles either. Whatever the case, I had sooo much fun writing this!

Like, Sans! And Papyrus! I love them, they're great characters: I'm only afraid I couldn't do them justice because they're so awesome. They just make for such great humor, and Reimu reacting to their stuff is mildly amusing: while she's sort of conflicted because she's supposed to exterminate every youkai in sight, we all know she never really exterminates them in-game, and I'm pretty sure that behind her violence and general attitude, Reimu's a good-natured person. Even in Symposium of Post-Mysticism, Miko points out that Reimu just wants a world where there's peace between youkai and humans (where none have to fight each other) despite what she says about exterminating all youkai, and I'm pretty sure Miko's words have merit since she can see people's desires.

Basically, Reimu's kindness is the basis for her accepting to go along with Sans and Papyrus, and the fact that she has no idea of what to do to get through the barrier anyway. Beyond that, isn't it great how optimistic, straight-forward and determined Reimu is? I think it's because she's so optimistic and confident that she can stay so determined: she always recovers her mood pretty fast; she's really not the type to mope around. In other words, I totally don't wanna screw up Reimu and I hope I'm doing a good job since her personality is really great ;_;

I felt really bad for practically skipping the Ruins in this story (I had no choice, I mean it! I wanted Reimu to see everyone there, too!), so I'm making Reimu fight some of the enemies in Snowdin since there's nothing stopping them from attacking her. It sucks that my description skills aren't very good, but I do hope the fights weren't that pointless: I tried pretty hard to portray the monsters in a manner I thought was most appropriate for them (as in, the most plausible in my head for them). Doggo got so rekt though XDD

I liked seeing Reimu somewhat get along with Sans: I don't know, but it somehow works. Papyrus is a joy to write though: I feel like I should stick the Royal Guard more in his dialogue, but other than that, I love how much he can side-track due to how naturally harmless he is XD I just wanna have Reimu and Papyrus getting along but for now...! He's gotta capture her, like the cool dude he is. Of course, Reimu, being so strong, won't just let herself suffer through that fate and fight! And, meanwhile, Marisa is apparently the only character who cares enough to look for Reimu ^^' I mean, there are more characters who'd bother, but they haven't heard of Reimu's disappearance yet, and Sanae's busy.

So, onto the shrine she goes to find Reimu! Marisa's really great, because while Reimu cracks a few jokes here and there due to how optimistic and carefree she actually is, she's also really dutiful and likes beating stuff up: meanwhile, Marisa just solves incidents because she can and because there might be treasure around; she overall has really quirky dialogue and funny lines (like in Stage 5 of Touhou 13, her response to Futo going on about getting ressurected being, "Congrats" XD). One of the curious things in this story is that Marisa kind of seems like the second protagonist when she's not supposed to, since the scenes of her looking for Reimu are a really minor thing: even so, she kind of acts like it so it's fairly intriguing to me.

 **Best deleted sentence of the chapter:** "you looked like you were having a bad time."

God damn it Sans XD I was actually about to write that though, unaware of the great irony of that sentence...


	3. Chapter 3

**First Words:**

* * *

 **b-wolf95 - Thank you! From the start of the story, I already had the mental image of Reimu dealing with the random encounters. If anything, it was because said mental image was so funny to me that I even got to writing this in the first place. I mean, it isn't like how one usually goes about 'playing' Undertale, right? So having Reimu in this position seemed like a great and more unique idea to me. And yes, it's awesome, Reimu totally is the most violent advisor ever XD Whatever the case, thank you for reviewing!**

 **lolguest - Ah, you see, that's exactly what I thought when it came to Reimu being or not being OP (though I still was kind of worried ^^'): Reimu might be good at Spellcard Battles, but that doesn't mean she's the absolute best (it's canonically stated she asks for rematches, meaning that she loses sometimes), and there are a whole lot of gimmicks in Undertale that change stuff around, and that implies having Reimu get used to them. It's definitely great to see someone else putting this into consideration though; it makes me feel more confident about my choices... Either way, thank you for reviewing and hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter as well!**

Since the last chapter, this story got 16 favorites and 23 followers; those are pretty big numbers! Thank you! Hopefully you'll all enjoy this chapter! Chapter 4 was a pretty long chapter, so it took me a while to get this one out. Sorry if you had to wait too long! Anyway, Reimu makes a reference to Symposium of Post-Mysticism, in which she said she listened to the whole thing, and that involved conversations about remote-stealing youkai. It's also worth noting Reimu's assumptions aren't the equivalent of the absolute truth in this story because people are flawed and can't assume everything correctly. Also, Reimu's barrier powers are pretty amazing so don't be too shocked whenever I include them: she actually can do all that stuff. Seriously. And it's pretty cool.

Well, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Spaghetti Dilemma**

* * *

To her left, Reimu already finds a strange, light blue, rabbit-like creature leaning on what seems to be a red and yellow box with a parasol on top of one of its corners and wheels underneath... Reimu readies her Purification Rod. _Just when I get out of a puzzle, I find more weird monsters..._ She hasn't even walked that far, so seeing a whole new area like this is strange to her.

Whatever the case, Reimu sees a monster, so she approaches it by default. The monster has a rather hopeless expression on its face and looks like it is mumbling something, making Reimu curious. "Hey," she calls out, "What's up with you? What are you even doing?"

"Huh?!" Having not been paying attention to his surroundings, the monsters flinches, startled. "M-me? Well, I've been standing here waiting for customers, I guess..."

Reimu tilts her head to the side in curiosity. "You're selling something?"

Seeing Reimu show an inkling of interest, the monster perks up with a cheerful smile and points at the box Reimu had already noticed. "Yes!" He opens the box, and takes out something wrapped in a material Reimu isn't all too familiar with: what she does know is that its color is blue, like the monster. "This is a Nice Cream: it's the cold treat that warms your heart! Would you like one? It's only 15G!" _G?_

 _From the way it's saying that, I guess it must be the currency here. Wouldn't be too awkward for an underground civilation to have its own currency,_ Reimu mentally comments with a curious expression. However, seeing Reimu has no money on her, she shakes her head. "Nope, sorry: I don't even know what exactly that is, and I don't have the money for it anyway." To further emphasize how much she will not buy it, she waves her hand dismissively.

"Oh..." The monster looks down disappointingly before storing the Nice Cream in its container, saddened and hopeless again. Reimu couldn't help but stare at the monster in pity, as he looks that pathetic in her eyes. "Well, have a nice day regardless..."

Despite those words, it is obvious the monster isn't truly feeling bright enough to say such words so Reimu sighs. "You know, you said that Nice Cream thing is a 'cold treat that warms your heart' or whatever, but that doesn't make any sense. Why would you sell anything cold out here anyway? I doubt that kind of stuff would ever warm someone's heart with this temperature; it's already cold enough as it is here." While still looking saddened, Reimu notices that the monster is listening to her, so she continues speaking, "So, basically, you should change locations if you want to sell that... whatever it is you're selling." Though she knows the name of the food item and that it's cold, Reimu does still have no idea of what 'Nice Cream' even is or how it tastes like; basic things like that would probably make her advice more sound, she notes. Her experience in selling things isn't the most successful (she will never admit on this, however), but she does know a few things. To begin with, shrines sell things like fortunes.

"Change locations..." The monster mutters, processing Reimu's words carefully. "Y-you really think that would be a good idea? I mean, since Nice Cream's a cold treat, I figured people from cold places would buy it, but it's almost like you're telling me that's not it..."

Reimu frowns, somewhat offended that the monster is doubting her. "Of course that's not it! People in cold places don't want to freeze to death!" Reimu asserts, "If you've got any common sense, you should know you're better off selling something like that in a really hot area. If you don't want to believe me, fine, but don't tell me I didn't warn you."

"Sorry!" The monster immediately apoplogizes, intimidated by Reimu's attitude. "I just never thought about that. But now that you mention it, that does make sense..." For a while, the monster remains deep in thought, with Reimu staring at him expectantly. Afterwards, he smiles cheerfully. "Thanks for the advice, uh..."

"Reimu Hakurei."

"Reimu! I would've still been standing here if it weren't for you! Or, at least, it'd take me way more time to figure that out," the monster says while already grabbing hold of a handle implemented at a side of the container. Afterwards, he starts slowly pushing it away. "Anyway, goodbye! I hope we'll meet again!"

In a somewhat awkward manner due to the strange situation, Reimu waves at the monster with the same hand that is currently wielding her Purification Rod. "Good luck with that Nice Cream thing, I guess," Reimu responds, "And don't go around troubling anyone or getting yourself into trouble, you hear me?!"

"A-alright!" This is the last word she hears from the monster before she simply stares at him going away for a while, still processing the novel situation. _This place really is weird..._ In Gensokyo, Reimu and the monster would've been battling to prove whether it's alright to trust Reimu's advice or not, but in here, Reimu just had a chat with him.

Deciding to just leave that topic be, Reimu focuses on another direction she could take and starts walking towards it. In her path, she finds a considerably-sized snow ball, but only glances at it curiously before moving on. _I wonder who made that..._ As she thinks that, she encounters a hole in the ground.

... It seems like the snow ball could fit into it. Reimu stares at the hole for a while, deciding on her next course of action. "Hmmm..." She turns to the snow ball.

"Sure, why not?" She flies over to it, unwilling to waste her time walking. She lands behind the snow ball, and starts considering the most efficient way to move it to the hole. "There's no way I'll ever bother pushing this thing..." Reimu bitterly mutters.

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

... Not feeling up to thinking too hard about how to move a snow ball of all things, Reimu creates a barrier and has it push the snow ball with moderate force. Naturally, the snow ball is blown apart by the sudden collision with the barrier, and its remnants are now splat on the ground. Reimu frowns. "I should've known..."

"Well, whatever." Shrugging, Reimu simply decides to ignore the strange hole and keep walking. Beyond the hole, there is a path, one that she chose to take rather than the other one back at the start of the area: Reimu doesn't like having to choose paths in this manner, but she figures she can just fly to the start if she gets lost.

In other words, it isn't that much of a problem. Besides, Reimu has good intuition, so she usually chooses the right path regardless of whether she knows her way around or not. As expected, what she finds by following the path she chose is Papyrus and Sans, talking to each other at a considerable distance from her.

On the ground, separating Reimu from them is a sheet of paper clearly written on, but Reimu is too far away from it to read. "HUMAN! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR—" Papyrus cuts himself off, having yet to even notice the piece of paper. "SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE?!"

"it's right there on ground, see?" Sans points to the paper. "trust me. she'll never solve this one."

Reimu stares at the paper skeptically after hearing Sans words. "I doubt that," Reimu says, reminding herself of how easy the electricity maze was. Besides, this time, it seems like the puzzle came from Sans, and Sans doesn't have any intentions of capturing Reimu.

With that in mind, figuring the puzzle would be really easy, Reimu confidently walks towards the paper, picks it up and starts reading:

'Monster Kidz Word Search' is written as the title.

 **. . .**

... Reimu immediately stops reading. "What's this? Is it a joke or something?"

"nope, that's the puzzle," Sans confirms, "looks tough, huh? can't blame you for thinkin' that way." He then winks, further throwing Reimu off. _I'm pretty sure he's trying to help me out, but I've never seen this weird game before..._

At least, Reimu could figure 'Word Search' probably entails having to find the specified words, so she decides to do that. _Okay, the first one on the list is 'fall'..._

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 _Where is it...?_

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 _I can't find it...!_

... Papyrus turns to Sans in awe. "SANS, COULD IT BE THAT YOUR PUZZLE IS ACTUALLY WORKING?" The mere thought that Sans might have done something productive is strange to Papyrus, so he is staring at Reimu intently as if to figure out what exactly is making her take it so seriously.

"i might just end up capturing the human at this rate, bro," Sans jokes, finding it strange yet greatly amusing that Reimu is getting stuck on the puzzle rather than just leaving it alone.

Meanwhile, Reimu coincidentally figures out that 'fall' is in a diagonal row, read from right to left. "Ah, found it!" She narrows her eyes. "But wait, how is it fair to put the words diagonally? No one would guess they're like that at all! Who reads in diagonal order anyway?!" She shoots Sans an accusing glare, not liking that she is finding difficulty in this puzzle.

"i didn't make the puzzle," Sans responds, "so how'd i know?"

Reimu sighs in frustration and looks down at the puzzle again. Reading all the words she has to find, Reimu raises an eyebrow at one in particular: 'giasfclfebrehber'. Reimu lifts the paper to Sans's eye level (a futile action since Sans is so far away from her) and points at the random letters with an irritated frown. "This isn't even a word!"

"doesn't mean you can't find it," Sans counters, still fairly relaxed despite Reimu's protests.

... Reimu looks down at the puzzle yet again. "Fine, I'll do this! You'll see!" With a greatly focused gaze, Reimu looks through the first horizontal row of letters.

Immediately, she seems to find what she is looking for. "Giasfclfu... Huh?" While reading the 'word' aloud, Reimu finds that rather than an 'e', what she found has an 'u' instead. Hoping that the word might just be in another row, Reimu reads through the rest of the rows patiently, not wanting to miss anything.

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

... Angry at the fact that the word actually is nowhere to be found, Reimu tears the paper in half. "This whole puzzle is stupid! It couldn't even put one of its words properly! I'm not solving this!" Reimu tears the two halves into more pieces and lets them drop to the snowy ground with a disdainful glare. Afterwards, she directs her anger at Sans and Papyrus. "I tried solving it because you wanted things to be 'proper' or whatever, but if even this puzzle isn't 'proper', I'm not going to bother!" Reimu crosses her arms, concluding her statements.

"W-WELL," Papyrus speaks up like a child that just got reprimanded. "SANS WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU THAT PUZZLE, NOT ME!"

"But you're the one going out of your way to get me to solve puzzles, right? So don't just talk big when you don't even check on your own brother's puzzles before making others solve them!" Reimu counters with ease and quickly focuses on Sans afterwards, pointing at him with her Purification Rod. "And you! You better not pull this kind of thing again, you hear me?!"

"loud and clear," he responds, keeping a grin and casual stance regardless of how intimidating Reimu is.

Not liking Sans's seemingly carefree attitude in light of her words, Reimu narrows her eyes at him for a while. "Hmph, you better have learned your lesson from this!" She settles on saying that, and sighs. _Seriously, why do I have to deal with this kind of stuff..._

Meanwhile, Papyrus recomposes himself after a moment of despair from Reimu having yelled at him, and clears his (non-existent) throat. "AS EXPECTED, MY GUIDANCE IS HELPING YOU IMMENSELY, HUMAN! I CAN ALREADY SEE YOU BEING BETTER THAN BEFORE, HAVING EVEN FACED MY BROTHER'S FLAWED PUZZLE HEAD-ON JUST BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO DO THINGS PROPERLY! TRULY IMPRESSIVE, AS THERE WAS LITERALLY NO WORTH IN TRYING THAT." Papyrus glances to the side. "IN ANY CASE...! PREPARE YOURSELF, HUMAN, BECAUSE THE NEXT PUZZLES ARE GUARANTEED TO BE FLAWLESS! SO FLAWLESS, IN FACT, THAT I WILL SURELY BE ABLE TO CAPTURE YOU WITH THEM! NYEH...! HEH! HEH HEH!"

With that, Papyrus leaves the area, making only Reimu and Sans remain. "Seriously," Reimu speaks up, "what was that puzzle all about?"

"searching for words." Seeing Reimu glare him down, Sans adds, "but i never thought you'd actually bother. even papyrus thought it was weird, and that's saying a lot."

Reimu's eye twitches. "What else did you think I was going to do when you gave me a puzzle to solve? You're the ones who don't want me to back out!"

"well, let's just let bybones be bybones, alright?" Reimu stares at him blankly, but doesn't say anything; it's not worth it. "you've really been helpin' out, after all. anyway, you should get going. wouldn't want to keep my bro waiting."

"You don't have to tell me that," Reimu simply responds before leaving the area, walking through the path Papyrus has gone towards. "Geez, these skeletons are giving me no end of trouble..." she mumbles, but quickly turns her mood back around again, moving forward with a casual stride.

... However, after a while of walking, Reimu stops curiously to stare at the strange things she spotted. The first thing that bothers her is the out-of-place table in this snowy forest, innocently standing there with a plate of some sort of noodles on it: as far as Reimu can tell, the noodles also are covered in red sauce, making Reimu even more curious as to what kind of food it specifically is. However, next to that table is something even more puzzling: another table is there, but instead of strange noodles, it has a somewhat small, black box. _What's that for...?_

Reimu decides to step closer so as to take a better look at both the food and the box, but instead notices something on the ground, next to the table with the strange noodles: it is a note, written solely in capital letters. Curious, Reimu picks the note up from the ground and starts reading it:

'HUMAN!'

Reimu briefly pauses her reading. _It's Papyrus, isn't it?_ Reimu immediately deducts with a blank gaze. "What is he doing this time..." she mumbles before continuing to read the note.

'PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI. (LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU! YOU'LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT, YOU WON'T EVEN REALIZE YOU AREN'T PROGRESSING! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!)

NYEH-HEH-HEH,

PAPYRUS'

... Reimu keeps staring blankly at Papyrus's note. _Why did he reveal his trap to me...? This skeleton really makes no sense._ "What's spaghetti anyway?" Seeing as it is clearly a type of food, Reimu points at the noodles. "This?" Throwing the note aside dismissively, Reimu walks closer to the spaghetti with a curious expression.

While it actually looks fairly appetizing, Reimu quickly notices that it's frozen, seeing from its slightly white surface and traces of ice. "Well, he tried," Reimu mutters, staring at Papyrus's trap as if pitying it. Afterwards, she smiles innocently. "I guess I'll never get to try this spaghetti thing out after all."

Having looked through that already, Reimu approaches the black box. She spots a handle on its front, and finds that the box has a door. Figuring there could be something inside, she opens it, but finds nothing in particular: a glass plate is placed at the center of it, but there is nothing on it; it seems almost like a platform of sorts to Reimu. Confused, Reimu closes the box's door and looks beside it. There are many buttons situated there, but all of their labels only read out 'spaghetti'.

... Reimu becomes even more confused at the strange apparatus in front of her. She circles the table it's in, and finds a wire coming out from behind the box. _Weird, I didn't see any signs of this wire inside..._ Following the wire, Reimu disappointingly finds out the wire connects to nothing, its end being simply a strange shape with two, tiny silver columns sticking out of it in opposite sides, as if they could fit into something. She frowns. "What's this supposed to be?"

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

Reimu shrugs. "Whatever." She walks away without even sparing the strange box-like object a glance, figuring she'd be wasting time thinking about something like that for too long. _Was that part of the trap too? If so, I guess it worked._ After all, she did stick around for longer than needed just to inspect everything, just like how Papyrus wanted. However, Reimu is not too bothered about this.

If anything, she wonders what sort of skeleton out to capture a human would devise a trap as harmless as that: in general, Papyrus seems like no threat to Reimu. Reimu stops her train of thought when she finds a sign, which only reads out:

'Warning: dog marriage.'

 _That's an awfully specific warning,_ Reimu thinks, a curious expression on her face. Reimu doesn't question the sign further, however, as she really finds nothing weird beyond the fact that it's there to begin with. Reimu knows a lot of youkai: it wouldn't digust her to see them getting married.

Though surely, if she were forced to watch a marriage by anyone, she would beat them up without question. In front of her are two paths she can take: one goes forward, and another one goes right. Reimu remembers having to pick between the same directions in a different area. Seeing as she picked going right the last time, Reimu decides to go forward now.

In doing so, Reimu finds a dead end, with nothing noteworthy but a few trees. Displeased, Reimu narrows her eyes. "Ugh..." She looks at the ground, and takes a step back. "What's this?" Near her feet is something that looks like a switch. Surprised, Reimu ponders whether flipping it is a good idea or not.

 **. . .**

 _I'll just figure it out if it turns out to be a bad thing._ With such carefree thoughts, Reimu crouches and flips the switch in front of her. Right afterwards, she hears a sound coming from the right.

... Not feeling up to backtracking, Reimu flies towards the other path, and floating along it, she finds a strange square of snow higher and looser than the one on the ground and, after that, retracted spikes. _Just like the Ruins, huh..._ Reimu lands a few centimeters after those spikes, and starts walking forward, wondering what exactly lies ahead of her.

She crosses a fairly tiny bridge and starts wondering where Papyrus is. Sans most likely used whatever powers he has to be with him, so Reimu doesn't bother thinking about him. _How many puzzles is that skeleton planning on showing me anyway?_ While Reimu would've wanted to further speculate on the answer to that question, she suddenly finds two strange figures in her line of sight coming towards her.

... They seem to be walking faced backwards, making Reimu stare at them skeptically: they have hoods over their heads, so Reimu can't make out their appearance. At the very least, Reimu can tell they're heavily armed, as they both are wielding long battleaxes.

Reimu narrows her eyes as they stop in their tracks near her, making her finally be able to see their faces. _Dogs...?_ Reimu reminds herself of the dog monster she knocked out a few areas back. _Are they in league with that other dog?_

"What's that smell?"

"(Where's that smell?)"

They seem to have not found Reimu yet, as they are not even facing her. While Reimu finds it curious that the dog monsters are so in synch, she still can't help but assume a battle stance.

"If you're a smell..."

"(... Identify yoursmellf!)"

 **. . .**

As the dog monsters proceed to dance around her, Reimu stares at them blankly. Afterwards, Reimu draws out twenty amulets. "Not interested...!"

... Before they could even finish their funky dance, the dog monsters already have two rows of ten amulets stuck to their bodies, thrown at such great speeds that they were knocked back and are now on the ground, yelping. Reimu smiles deviously. "Besides, I'm a person, not a smell."

"Wh... What was that...?"

"(W-what are these...?)"

"That smell..."

"(That person...)"

"If they're human..."

"(... Then humans are scary!)"

Reimu puts her hand on her hips. "Quit whining," Reimu says, "That was me going easy on you. Now go bother someone else with your weird stuff, because I'm not taking it." With that, Reimu walks away, to where the dogs came from.

The fact that Reimu does not even spare them a glance makes the dog monsters look at where they hear her footsteps with fear in their eyes. However, realizing that Reimu refrained from killing them for some reason, they simply stay fallen on the ground, confused.

Meanwhile, Reimu thinks nothing of that as she moves forward, having figured they've learned their lesson from her attack. However, in slight realization, Reimu stops walking. "Wait..." _Was that sign about dog marriage referring to those two? I mean, they did look vaguely like a couple..._ "Huh, that's neat, I guess," she neutrally remarks. "Though I don't see why youkai that weak would need a warning sign..."

Finding nothing else in particular to say about that discovery, Reimu starts moving forward again. After just a little while, Reimu spots a stone tile jolting out of the snowy ground from afar and stares at it curiously as she approaches it. Beyond the tile, Reimu finds stones purposely arranged to surround the blue crosses on the ground and a sign next to them. Figuring the sign has information about the strange things she found, Reimu decides to head over to it rather than the stone tile.

 _Weird that there's a puzzle around, but no Papyrus,_ she mentally comments. As she gazes forward, Reimu sees that her path is being blocked by spikes... and that Papyrus is just standing on the other side for some reason. _So he_ is _around..._ "Hey!" Reimu calls out. "What are you doing over there?!"

Papyrus jumps in agitation and immediately turns around, not at all having expected Reimu. "H-HUMAN?! YOU'RE EARLY!"

"And you're on the other side of this puzzle thing," Reimu remarks, "Is anything worthwhile happening over there? Because if it is, I might as well check it out." Papyrus is usually with Reimu when she is solving puzzles, so she figures something must be wrong for that not to be the case.

Reimu can't help but be curious about whatever Papyrus is taking care of on the other side of the spikes; it could be more interesting than the puzzle she has to solve. "NO, YOU CANNOT! DON'T YOU SEE THE SPIKES BLOCKING YOUR WAY? YOU'VE GOT TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE FIRST!" Papyrus responds as if he were stating the obvious.

However, since that information isn't so obvious to Reimu, she narrows her eyes and frowns. "Why can't I just see what's on the other side, come back and then solve the puzzle?" Reimu asks, annoyed at Papyrus. "Since I'm going to solve it anyway, it doesn't make any difference!"

"IT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!" Papyrus counters with the same conviction as Reimu (but no irritation) and gestures towards the spikes. "IMAGINE THESE SPIKES AS A TALL, IMPENETRABLE WALL! IT IS YOUR ULTIMATE OBSTACLE! AND TO OVERCOME IT, YOU MUST SOLVE THE PUZZLE IN YOUR AREA. THAT WAY, THE PATH TO THE NEXT AREA WILL OPEN AND ONLY THEN CAN YOU ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH EVERYTHING IN IT! OTHERWISE, YOU ARE CHEATING THE SYSTEM! DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW, HUMAN?! THIS IS HOW IT WORKS IN THE UNDERGROUND, SAVE FOR EXCEPTIONAL OCCURRENCES! YOU'D BEST REMEMBER THAT!"

 **. . .**

 _I shouldn't have asked anything._ Reimu imagined Papyrus would say something of this sort, so it felt rather pointless to hear him. "If you say so," Reimu mutters in clear disinterest and turns to the sign.

'Turn every X into a 0. Then press the switch.'

Reimu looks over at the crosses on the ground. _How am I supposed to do that?_ One cannot simply make crosses into circles, so Reimu finds herself confusedly staring at the puzzle as if that would make the answer appear before her.

... Her eyebrows furrow in slight frustration. "Not another stupid puzzle..." Reimu stomps towards the left cross and crouches down. _So I've got to turn this thing into an 0, right?_ "Then I'll just—" However, at the precise the moment she touches the blue cross, it disappears and is quickly replaced by a red circle. "Woah!" Startled, Reimu jumps back, just in case.

Afterwards, she can't help but stare at the red circle with a frown on her face. _I just had to touch the thing?! How would I know that?!_ "Ugh..." Finding it useless to complain, Reimu sighs. _At least it's convenient..._ With that in mind, Reimu walks over to the cross on the right, crouches down and bothers touching it with her hand rather than just stepping on it, having no idea she could've done so.

That blue cross shifts into a red circle, only for the two circles in the area to right away assume a bright green color. Just like that, Reimu hears the sound of the spikes retracting to the ground and looks towards that direction, still finding Papyrus standing right there.

Without any hesitation, Reimu walks over to Papyrus. "Alright, the 'walls' are down!" Reimu exclaims, "Now you have no excuses!"

Thrown off by Reimu's words, Papyrus takes a step back, but still makes sure to look as unfazed as possible. "THAT WAS NOT AN EXCUSE! IT'S UNDERGROUND COMMON SENSE! I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS TO ANYONE BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A NATURAL CONCEPT!"

Reimu points her Purification Rod at Papyrus threateningly. "What's that supposed to mean?!" _Just because I don't get your stupid customs, it doesn't mean I'm slow!_

"FRET NOT, HUMAN! IT ONLY MEANS YOU STILL HAVE A LOT TO LEARN BEFORE YOUR INEVITABLE CAPTURE!" Seeing Papyrus regaining his confidence so quickly makes Reimu calm down slightly despite his words, finding it strangely hard to dislike Papyrus: while she definitely finds him to be somewhat annoying, she can tell none of his actions are out of pure malice. In Reimu's mind, the fact that he finds it appropriate to educate her on how things work in the Underground when he is supposed to be capturing her only makes it more obvious that he doesn't have it in him to do so. "SPEAKING OF THAT..."

Papyrus narrows his eye sockets, while Reimu simply stares at him with a neutral expression. Though Reimu did calm down, it's not like she is that interested in hearing Papyrus's words either, having a hunch on what they might be about (himself, capturing Reimu or her lack knowledge on Underground customs). "YOU'VE ESCAPED MY TRAP QUITE EASILY." _Trap?_ Then, Papyrus rests his hands at each side of his jaws, looking up with a dreamy, innocent expression; Reimu raises an eyebrow in confusion. "COULD IT BE THAT IT WAS SO DELICIOUS YOU ATE IT IN MERE SECONDS...?!"

"Oh," Reimu utters in realization, though still not showing herself interested in what Papyrus has to say. "You mean that spaghetti thing? I left it there because it was frozen; I couldn't eat it." Reimu looks down at her own stomach. "It's kind of a shame, really. I've never even seen those kinds of noodles before, much less eaten them, but they did look good." _Sucks that they were frozen, even if they were a trap. At least I'd have something to eat,_ Reimu thinks before focusing on Papyrus again.

"BUT I EVEN LEFT YOU A MICROWAVE JUST IN—" However, Papyrus processes what Reimu said completely, and immediately cuts himself off. "WAIT...! HUMAN!" He is looking at Reimu in awe, shock, worry even, surprising Reimu as well.

"YOU'VE NEVER. SEEN. SPAGHETTI BEFORE?!"

While she is confused at just how dramatically Papyrus asked such a question, Reimu responds with the same neutral tone, "Never even knew that existed until I saw it." _What's the big deal anyway?_

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

Reimu stares at a frozen Papyrus awkwardly...

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

Suddenly, he grabs her hand and proceeds to dash towards a tree left of the area he is on. "H-hey! What are you doing, you weird skeleton?!" Papyrus then flips a switch hidden on the tree, leaving Reimu more than surprised. "What's wrong?!"

Hearing a few sounds, Reimu looks to the side and finds nothing until Papyrus drags her towards a stone tile: that makes the X's into green circles immediately. _What's the point of the puzzle if you can just do that? And why is he dragging me around?!_ Papyrus runs towards the retracted spikes up ahead, shouting, "SANS!" Still surprised, Reimu spots Sans in the distance, turning to them with the same grin. "CODE RED, SANS! CODE RED!"

"no ketchup?"

"NO, SANS, WORSE! HAVEN'T I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT'S NOT WHAT CODE RED IS FOR?! IT'S FOR EMERGENCIES!"

"and no ketchup isn't an emergency?"

"UGH, OF COURSE NOT, SANS! LACK OF KETCHUP IS NOT AN EMERGENCY!" Papyrus lets go of Reimu's hand and gently pushes her forward. "THIS IS!"

... At Reimu's furious expression, Sans nods. "i can see that."

Reimu immediately faces Papyrus. "What the heck was that about?! If you're going to start spouting nonsense, at least don't drag me around all of a sudden! Just TRY to push me again, and see what I'll do to you then!"

Despite her words, Papyrus's response is a gaze of empathy and a confident grin. "IT'S NO WONDER YOU ARE FEELING THAT WAY BUT DESPAIR NO LONGER, HUMAN! I'LL TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING!"

"Are you even listening to me?!" Reimu questions, practically about to challenge him to battle.

However, before she can take that chance, Sans speaks up, "alright, you two. if you want me to do anything, which is already weird since i basically do nothing on a daily basis, i'm gonna need to ketchup to the problem here."

... Reimu's anger subsides right away to focus on Sans, as his pun is that terrible in her mind. Both Papyrus and Reimu are staring at Sans with the same irritated expression, meaning that Sans's tactic worked. "so, what's up with the human, bro?"

Papyrus quickly gets over Sans's horrible jokes and reminds himself of the emergency that he is currently agitated over. "OH, SANS, IT'S HORRIFYING! THE HUMAN SEEMS TO HAVE COME FROM SUCH A DESOLATE PLACE THAT SHE HASN'T EVEN HEARD OF SPAGHETTI BEFORE! IT ALMOST MAKES EVEN ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CRY FROM SUCH TRAGEDY! IF I WEREN'T SO COOL, I MIGHT'VE ALREADY BEEN MELTING AWAY IN TEARS!"

"Hey, what's the big deal about that spaghetti stuff anyway?! It just looks like slightly different noodles," Reimu says, feeling offended at Papyrus's words despite knowing he actually didn't mean to insult her.

Either way, they were still fairly offensive words so Reimu's reaction is justifiable. "SEE THAT, SANS?! _SEE_ THAT?!" Papyrus frantically points at Reimu. "'JUST LOOKS LIKE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT NOODLES', SHE SAID! TRULY THE WORDS OF SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER BEEN GRACED WITH THE WONDERS OF SPAGHETTI BEFORE! SAD, ISN'T IT?! I CANNOT SIMPLY STAND BY AND WATCH THIS HUMAN LIVE HER LIFE SPAGHETTI-LESS, LET ALONE CAPTURE HER!" Papyrus's gaze indicates only confidence. "SO, I'VE DECIDED A BREAK IS IN ORDER!"

"A break? You mean we're doing to stop with the puzzles for a while?" Reimu questions, slightly surprised. "That doesn't sound very 'proper'."

"THERE IS NO HELPING IT THIS TIME AROUND, HUMAN! AFTER ALL, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. AND EMERGENCIES CALL FOR CHANGES IN PLANS!" While Papyrus looked as serious as one could be when saying such words, Reimu is still unconvinced. _Just because I didn't eat that spaghetti stuff? Geez..._ "IN THIS CASE, I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS, WILL HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU TRY OUT MY HOMECOOKED SPAGHETTI AND SEE THE LIGHT! THEN, I WILL GIVE YOU MORE PUZZLES, CAPTURE YOU, AND SEND YOU TO THE CAPITAL!" Papyrus exclaims, "A POSITION IN THE ROYAL GUARD WILL FINALLY BE UNDER MY GRASP! I WILL GET ALL THE RECOGNITION I DESERVE, AND MAKE MORE FRIENDS THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

"you do know we basically blocked the path with all the puzzles we set up, right?" Sans casually questions. "and the human hasn't solved 'em yet."

"WELL," Papyrus utters before pointing at Sans, "THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN! WITH YOUR SHORTCUTS, WE CAN GET TO SNOWDIN IN NO TIME!" Papyrus glances to the side. "LITERALLY."

"Snowdin?" Reimu immediately asks with a curious expression on her face. An unknown location being mentioned serves to remind Reimu of the fact that she knows nothing about the Underground's layout, which is something she definitely needs to have some awareness of if she wants any leads on how to cross the barrier.

"IT'S WHERE SANS AND I LIVE!" Papyrus excitedly replies, having liked Reimu's question as it let him be helpful to her in some way. "SOUNDS GREAT ALREADY, RIGHT?"

Reimu doesn't say anything out of possessing no opinion on the matter, still as unsure of what the place is like as before. As if picking up on that, Sans adds, "that town's got a real snowed in look to it." He winks. "it's what makes it so cool."

"SANS!" Papyrus shouts while Reimu glares Sans down, "STOP ACCURATELY DESCRIBING SNOWDIN WITH HORRENDOUS PUNS!"

Sans shrugs. "it's not my fault the name of the town's a pun," he says, "blame the genius who did that before me." _What_ is _up with this snowy area and bad jokes, really?_ Reimu asks for the second time in her mind, still coming up with no answer and not caring enough to make one up. "welp, anyway. you wanna use my shortcuts to get there, right?" Sans starts walking forward, towards where Reimu came from. That happens to be the opposite direction of the actual path to Snowdin, but Reimu isn't aware of that so she finds no problem with Sans's actions. "follow me."

Instead, being greatly curious about how Snowdin looks like, Reimu walks behind Sans, with Papyrus next to her...

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

In basically no time at all, Reimu, Papyrus and Sans are already standing before a rather cozy-looking house in Snowdin; needless to say Reimu is more than surprised at this. _I was just walking through that forest, and now I'm here?!_

 _This is way more than a shortcut,_ Reimu thinks, her hands on her hips as she gazed at the house. "we're here," Sans casually announces. "fast shortcut, huh?"

"Can you even call it that?" Reimu retorts. She is fairly sure he has some sort of teleportation ability, so she is finding it strange that he's not being that open about it. In Gensokyo, teleportation isn't even that amazing: any strong individual can just fly anyway.

"i just did." At Sans's cheeky response, Reimu simply sighs, unwilling to deal with him further (besides, Sans's powers are none of her business). Instead, she focuses on Papyrus and Sans's house again, wondering how it's like on the inside.

In general, she never thought it would look that presentable: the two brothers are skeletons, and Reimu imagined skeletons would have quite the creepy living spaces. This doesn't seem to be the case for Papyrus and Sans, at least for the house's exterior. "THIS IS OUR LOVELY HOUSE!" Papyrus exclaims, as if Reimu hadn't understood that already. "IT'S ONE OF THE ONLY FIVE YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE AROUND HERE! IT MAKES ME WONDER WHERE EVERYONE ELSE LIVES. THE FOREST, MAYBE?"

Finding no response from either Reimu (knows nothing about Snowdin) or Sans (too lazy to bother), Papyrus waves his hand dismissively. "ANYWAY," he utters while walking up to the door and opening it, "LET'S GO IN, SHALL WE?" As Papyrus holds the door open for both Sans and Reimu, both go inside the house without much hesitation. If anything, Reimu seems somewhat eager to explore the new location out of sheer curiosity.

While Reimu found the situation weird at first, she then realized getting food from Papyrus would not be a bad idea, especially since she hasn't eaten anything at all. Besides, spaghetti did look fairly appetizing... She can't deny she wants to try it. Her first impressions of the house are literally the same as of its exterior: much better than she thought, for a residence of skeletons. However, around her, she finds a number of items she is unable to identify.

For example, a strange, exceedingly slim yet wide black box is facing a couch for reasons completely unknown to Reimu: what is that object anyway? If Sans and Papyrus bothered to put something to sit on facing that box, there must be something interesting about it, as a box so slim looks far from practical. However, Reimu cannot even fathom what that would be. Reimu points at the box. "What's this thing?" she asks.

"you don't know what a tv is?" Rather than confused, Sans seems genuinely amused at this, especially with Reimu approaching it so curiously. "huh... guess you really do come from a desolate place."

Reimu immediately turns to him with a glare. "Say that again and you bet I won't hold back on you this time!" While Reimu had wanted to do much more than throwing fairly harmless needles at clearly not fatal spots (if they even exist for a skeleton) when she got the chance in the forest, it somehow didn't seem like a good idea at the time: for a monster, Sans didn't look very strong, and it's not like Reimu wanted to kill him or something of the sort. In the end, Reimu took to using her naturally non-lethal amulets and needles, used specifically only in spellcard duels, though she doubted the monsters and Sans could ever tell the difference. "What's a black box for, anyway...?" Reimu grumbles, her mood soured.

"BUT HUMAN, THAT'S NOT JUST A 'BLACK BOX'!" Papyrus argues while walking closer to Reimu and Sans, wanting to be reliable. "IT'S A TELEVISION! WITH IT, YOU CAN WATCH A VARIETY OF SHOWS MADE TO ENTERTAIN! AND BY VARIETY, I MEAN IT'S ALL JUST MTT STUFF... OF DIVERSE GENRES, SO YOU'RE BOUND TO FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE!"

Reimu tilts her head in confusion. "Huh? I still don't get it, but..." Facing the TV again, Reimu notices a button on it and, curious about its effects, decides to press it. "Woah!" Right away, Reimu is bombarded by the loud sound of a fairly catchy tune coming from the TV and jumps back so as to cautiously assume a defensive stance afterwards. Further surprising her, colorful imagery flashes from the TV's screen, with letters Reimu can read as:

 **'STAY TUNED FOR A NEW—'**

However, it all suddenly disappears, the screen turning black again before Reimu could even read everything on it. Looking behind her with a rather confused expression, she finds Sans holding a strange, small, black, rectangular object in his hand and pointing it at the television. Reimu immediately connects the dots and figures that object has something to do with the TV turning itself off, and that it was all Sans's doing.

Sans casually throws the object at the couch and shrugs. "just figured you might freak out and start breaking stuff or something," Sans explains, "so i turned it off. you can do that with a remote." He points at the object he had just thrown to the couch. "this thing right there." _Huh, I have a feeling I've heard of this remote thing before..._ Seeing Reimu's thoughtful gaze in light of the situation, Sans says, "don't think too hard about it, buddy. it's not like you came over here to watch tv."

"EXACTLY!" Papyrus exclaims. "INSTEAD, YOU CAME HERE TO TASTE THE HOMECOOKED PASTA OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS! LUCKILY FOR YOU, I HAVE A GREAT MANY CONTAINERS IN THE FRIDGE PREPARED FOR SITUATIONS LIKE THESE, SO YOU WON'T EVEN HAVE TO WAIT FOR ME TO COOK IT!" He then gestures towards the couch. "NOW, TAKE A SEAT, HUMAN! I'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH YOUR SPAGHETTI!"

Reimu nods as she sees Papyrus leave to a room to the right, presumably the kitchen. "Well, alright." After uttering that, she walks towards the couch and sits on it. It's rather comfortable, she notes. It's not long before Reimu lazily sinks on it and exhales, as if much more tired than she actually is. "It's way warmer indoors... Agh, the cold was terrible."

"with an outfit like that, it's no wonder you were so cold out there," Sans retorts, still somewhat amused by Reimu's attitude, which he finds unfamiliar and different from any monster of the Underground. "i'm not even sure what that's supposed to be."

Offended, Reimu points her Purification Rod at Sans threateningly, though she refrains from leaving the comfort of the couch. "Hey, I'll have you know this is shrine maiden attire!" However, afterwards, Reimu glances to the side with an apprehensive smile. "Sort of. I might've just taken a few liberties with it." She narrows her eyes, displeased. "Not that it matters!"

"shrine maiden, huh?" Sans repeats that word, as if to make sure he'd remember it. "can't say i've ever met anyone with that kind of job before. well, if you say so."

Reimu frowns, unsure of whether Sans is doubting her words or not. Before she could speak out about that matter, Sans asks, "anyway, you're lookin' forward to that spaghetti, right?" Seeing as it was a rhetorical question, Sans doesn't make time for an answer, simply leaving Reimu to thoughtfully gaze at him. "then i'll just tell you straight up that—"

"IT'S HERE!" Papyrus excitedly announces as he enters the room with a plate of spaghetti on his hands, inadvertedly cutting Sans off.

"welp. too late." Reimu finds herself confused at Sans words. _It's as if something bad's gonna happen..._ Even so, what's so wrong with a plate of noodles with sauce on top?

Reimu stares at the spaghetti thoughtfully before Papyrus approaches her with it. "BEHOLD, HUMAN! _THIS_ IS SPAGHETTI! COOKED BY ME, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS! YOU ARE BOUND TO ENJOY IT!" With a proud expression, Papyrus hands the plate of spaghetti over to Reimu, who takes it without much hesitation. She eyes it curiously, as if to look for anything wrong. _It looks alright... Not bad at all._ "AND LET'S NOT FORGET THE SILVERWARE!"

Being urged to do so, Reimu places the plate on her lap and receives a fork and a knife afterwards, leaving her slightly surprised. "Hey, this is the kind of stuff I see at Remilia's! You two eat with these?"

"OF COURSE! WE WOULDN'T WANT TO EAT WITH OUR HANDS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" Papyrus responds as if that were obvious, but Reimu simply gives him a blank look. _There's more than just silverware to choose from, you know?_ If anything, Reimu is not used to eating with a fork and knife, so she glances at Sans awkwardly.

He merely shrugs. _Figures..._ "NOW, WAIT JUST A MOMENT, HUMAN," Papyrus says as he walks over to a table off to the side, which has only a plate with a small rock on top of it. Then, Papyrus attempts to move the table off the side to turn it horizontally, but finds the awkwardness of having both Sans and Reimu staring at him intently not worth feeling for the sake of a table. After a while, he faces Sans. "SANS! HELP ME OUT HERE!"

As Papyrus moves back, Sans utters, "sure thing, bro." It isn't like Papyrus couldn't have done it himself: he could've, but within that time, he wouldn't be able to get a table cloth for Reimu to eat more comfortably; it's all for convenience's sake. Besides, he definitely couldn't leave someone like Sans to pick out table cloths: he wouldn't even bother choosing the most appropriate one (according to Papyrus, there is a difference). With that in mind, Papyrus heads to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Sans steps closer to the couch and stretches his arm out to the right. Afterwards, as he quickly positions said arm to the opposite side, Reimu stares at the momentarily flashing blue and yellow within Sans's left eye socket in slight awe, and then blinks in shock at the table sliding to the left at great speeds. The table stops when it's right in front of the couch, with Sans seemingly wiping away non-existent sweat from his skull afterwards (Reimu blankly reacts to such a playful dramatization).

"heh, that was a workout..." he mutters in a manner much more casual and easygoing than fatigued, only supported by his currently nonchalant stance, his hands already tucked within his coat's pockets. "so. pretty cool, huh? manipulating gravity and all that. it's sure convenient for these situations." _He can do that too? Huh..._ Reimu thinks, only slightly impressed after realizing what just happened; she's seen crazier. "wonder why no one uses their special abilities for this kind of stuff."

"I fly all the time," Reimu states, "It's much better than walking all the way to my destination: at least flying doesn't tire me out." The distances she would have to travel in Gensokyo to solve an incident are far too great to justify walking towards the culprit: by the time she'd get to them, their plans would have already come to fruition (or Marisa would have already taken care of it; either option is plausible). Not only that, but most battles occur in the air, so it wouldn't make much sense to be heading for the enemy on the ground.

"then i guess we've both got that going for us." Sans winks. "i don't like walking all the way either."

Without warning, Sans drops himself onto the couch as if dead weight in a lazy attempt to sit on it, which succeeds somewhat. "W-woah!" However, due to the jangling of the couch and how much his actions caught her off guard, Reimu had no grasp of the plate of spaghetti on her lap. With the sudden movement, it takes a small leap off of Reimu's legs onto the wedge between her lap and the table, which manages to only stop the plate, though upside down, from falling to the floor and breaking apart.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's point-of-view), the spaghetti wasn't so lucky. It is now mostly on the floor and over Reimu's shoes, having dropped from the plate. "whoops," Sans merely utters.

 **"Hey!"** Needless to say Reimu isn't pleased with this turn of events. She stands up from her seat angrily, making the plate drop to the floor as well. "What the heck was _that_ all about?!" Now, rather than just her Purification Rod, Reimu is brandishing 5 amulets as well. "Can't you be more careful sitting down, you weird skeleton?! Now not only my food, but my shoes are also ruined! How are you going to make up for that?!"

"let's see... considering you can't eat your spaghetti now, i'd say we're even." Seeing as it seems Sans was serious about that claim, Reimu's hands tremble in fury.

"Stop spouting nonsense and _do_ something about this!" she shouts, only not attacking Sans out of wanting him to make up to what his actions.

However, before Sans can respond, Papyrus dashes out of the kitchen with an alarmed expression, carrying 3 table cloths (he didn't have the time to pick between the three). "DID ANYTHING HAPPEN TO YOU, HUMAN?! IF SO, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN—" Then, finally noticing his surroundings, Papyrus sees Reimu's plate of spaghetti on the floor and Reimu pointing seemingly dangerous weapons at Sans.

... Papyrus slowly connects the dots. "SANS!" he immediately shouts. "WHAT DID YOU DO?! THE SPAGHETTI IS ALL OVER THE FLOOR!"

"i literally just sat down," Sans states while shrugging, as if not particularly bothered by either Reimu or Papyrus's shouting. Reimu narrows her eyes at him. _You did it on purpose! You must have!_ She has no hard evidence, but she's sure of it anyway. Besides, who else could have done anything if only Reimu and Sans were in the living room? Reimu has to blame _someone._

"THEN YOU SHOULD START BEING MORE CAREFUL SITTING DOWN!" Papyrus retorts, "WE WOULDN'T WANT MY HOMECOOKED PASTA ON THE FLOOR AGAIN, NOW WOULD WE? NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST!" Papyrus shakes his skull as if to emphasize his point. "HOWEVER, WHAT'S DONE IS DONE. TO MAKE UP FOR THIS TRAGIC ACCIDENT, THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO NOW IS CLEAN UP THE MESS AND GET THE HUMAN ANOTHER PLATE OF SPAGHETTI."

Reimu turns to Papyrus indignantly. "Think about your food later; it's not just your floor that's all dirty with these noodles!" she exclaims, pointing downwards. "Because of your brother, my shoes and socks are all stained with sauce and I'm not about to let that slide!"

Following the direction Reimu is pointing at and finding that it's just as Reimu told him, Papyrus responds in slight shock, "OH MY GOD, YOU'RE RIGHT!" Afterwards, he faces Sans. "IT SEEMS WE MUST TAKE CARE OF THIS SITUATION FIRST, SANS. WE CANNOT LEAVE OUR HOUSEGUEST IN SUCH A STATE!"

"technically, you're supposed to capture her."

"DETAILS, DETAILS!" Papyrus waves his hand dismissively. "THIS IS A BREAK! A COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED TRUCE EVERYONE AGREED ON! WITHIN THIS TIME, I'M NOT ABOUT TO LEAVE THE HUMAN, AS A GUEST, UNSATISFIED! ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE HAS YET TO TRY OUT MY COOKING! AFTER ALL, THAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THIS!"

"welp. alright," Sans says, though he doesn't even move from the couch.

While Reimu only huffs in disdain despite their actions, she feels slightly better at the fact that the two are going to do something about the situation. In Gensokyo, it's more common to have to fight someone just so they can then make up to you, but as always, the Underground proves to work differently from Reimu's homeland.

As Reimu watches this going on, she wonders what exactly Sans's intentions were with having the spaghetti fall to the floor... If he even had them to begin with.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

The next thing she knows, Reimu is drowsily opening her eyes to Sans and Papyrus's living room. She stretches her arms and legs while still sprawled out on their couch, uncaring of this fact. "Since when did I fall asleep...?" Reimu looks toward her feet; there are no shoes or socks on them. _I probably got too sick of waiting around for them._ Besides, the couch _is_ very comfortable.

She just couldn't resist taking a nap. "OH, HUMAN!" Reimu immediately turns her head to the source of that voice, already knowing it's Papyrus. "YOU'RE AWAKE! AND JUST IN TIME TOO!" Being able to deduct the meaning behind his words, Reimu immediately shifts to a sitting position on the couch and stares at him expectantly. "BEHOLD! YOUR SHOES AND SOCKS, FRESHLY CLEAN!" Papyrus proudly holds them up to Reimu's line of sight; Reimu can't help but smile a little at this.

She would've never had the patience to clean off stains like that, so she at least commends Papyrus's diligence. "Nice!" However, as she stares, Reimu notices Papyrus is holding something else. From what she can see, he is holding white, sock-like objects either made of actual wool, or a wool-like material; they seem rather warm. "But what's that over there?" She points at his other arm, where that is located.

Papyrus's eye sockets narrow deviously. "OH-HO, SO YOU'VE NOTICED!" Before fully presenting what else he is carrying, Papyrus gently plops Reimu's shoes and socks on the couch near her. "SANS TOLD ME YOU WERE FEELING COLD WITH JUST THAT ODD CLOTHING OF YOURS SO I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE DECIDED TO LEND YOU THESE LEG WARMERS!"

"Leg warmers?" Reimu questions as she sees said leg warmers stretched out in front of her. "Those only look like longer socks to me." However, she then notices a gap where the supposed socks should end, which she notes as definitely unnatural. It isn't like the idea of leg warmers is that foreign to Reimu; at least, she knows she possesses something similar. Even so, the fabric of what Reimu has is completely different and lighter: in comparison, what Papyrus is giving her is much warmer.

Since the weather wasn't that cold in Gensokyo, Reimu did not bring with her anything more than what she usually wears, so she was only wearing socks before. _I guess something like this would come in handy._ "THEY MAY LOOK LIKE THAT TO YOU, BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY NOT SOCKS! THEY'RE FOR WARMING YOUR LEGS INSTEAD OF YOUR FEET! THEY'RE PRETTY STYLISH TOO, IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF." If Papyrus had eyebrows, he would be wiggling them. "I FIGURED YOU'D FIND THESE USEFUL SINCE YOU'RE JUST WEARING A SKIRT. BESIDES, YOU'VE GOT SIMILAR THINGS ON YOUR ARMS AS WELL!"

"You mean these sleeves?" Reimu raises one of her arms in an horizontal position to better present her detached sleeves. Then, she glances at Papyrus's leg warmers and back at her arms curiously. "Huh... I guess they _are_ similar," she casually concludes, not at all bothered by this discovery. If anything, she only briefly wonders why she never thought that herself before. "I'll take those, then."

Without any hesitation, Reimu snatches the leg warmers from Papyrus's grasp. "GOOD! NOW YOU WILL SURELY STRUGGLE LESS WITH THE COLD THAN BEFORE!" he exclaims, seemingly supportive of her. While Reimu is putting the leg warmers aside and grabbing her socks, she frowns in confusion.

"You know, you're being awfully nice to me," Reimu remarks as she puts on one of her socks, "What gives?" She watches as Papyrus's expression shifts from slightly confused to proud in a very short span of time, wondering what his response will be.

"THIS IS NOTHING FOR SOMEONE AS COOL AS ME! BESIDES, YOU WERE IN TROUBLE WITH THE COLD. ISN'T IT NATURAL TO HELP OTHERS IN NEED?" He seems fairly sure of himself with those words, Reimu notes.

However, that fact only makes Reimu give him a blank look. "Not when you're supposed to capture whoever you're being nice to," she counters, still finding it weird that Papyrus is genuinely acting like that because that's just how he is rather than as a trap to deceive her.

"HASN'T IT ALREADY BEEN ESTABLISHED THAT WE'RE ON A BREAK? UNTIL YOU TRY SPAGHETTI FOR THE FIRST TIME, I WILL NOT CAPTURE YOU!" Reimu's eyebrows furrow in irritation.

"Then what about outside this 'break' of yours? Even though you just need to capture me, you've been going on about teaching me how things work around here and cheering me on instead!" _For_ some _reason,_ Reimu adds in her mind just after putting her shoes on each foot and taking the leg warmers.

Besides, Reimu is completely sure she doesn't need to be taught anything, especially when it involves fighting others: she has done plenty of that in her lifetime. "THAT'S JUST BECAUSE I HAD NO CHOICE, HUMAN! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT UNDERGROUND CUSTOMS SO OBVIOUSLY, I HAVE TO TEACH THEM TO YOU! AND JUST BECAUSE I'M DOING THAT, IT DOESN'T MEAN I WON'T CAPTURE YOU! IF I FEEL LIKE IT, I'LL DO BOTH AT THE SAME TIME!"

"That's not normal, you know?!"

"EXACTLY! IT'S BETTER THAN NORMAL, IT'S PERFECT! JUST LIKE ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

"That's not what I meant!"

"SO YOU... YOU THINK I'M BETTER THAN PERFECT...?! HUMAN, I NEVER THOUGHT YOU FELT SO STRONGLY ABOUT ME! I MEAN, IT'S COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED CONSIDERING THOSE FEELINGS ARE TOWARDS NONE OTHER THAN MYSELF, BUT SHOCKING NONETHELESS!"

... Not patient enough to deal with such statements, Reimu merely puts the leg warmers on without much care and utters, "Ugh, whatever! Basically, you're a huge anomaly, right?"

"THERE IS NO NEED TO LIE TO ME, HUMAN! I'VE GOT YOU ALL FIGURED OUT NOW!" Papyrus states, a rather sly expression on his skull, as if knowing more than he lets on. "YOU MIGHT BE CALLING ME THAT OUTWARDLY, BUT ON THE INSIDE, YOU THINK I'M THE COOLEST SKELETON YOU'VE EVER MET!"

Reimu snorts, as if she heard a rather lame joke. "You wish," she retorts. "Anyway, I've put these on now." The leg warmers are carelessly unstretched to knee-length and almost touching the floor, but that seems acceptable in Reimu's standards; she'll take care of that as she goes. "So, well, thanks, I guess."

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" Papyrus responds with a noticeably more satisfied tone, content with earning her gratitude. "TRY WALKING AROUND NOW! YOU DON'T FEEL AS COLD AS BEFORE, DO YOU?"

With a neutral expression on her face, Reimu stands up from the couch and does just as Papyrus says: she walks around the living room for a bit, and only stops to pull up the leg warmers once. Afterwards, she says, "Seems alright. I'd have to go outside to see if it makes any difference in the cold though. But, in general, they're comfortable." It isn't the leg warmers' fault that they're so lazily put on, after all, and even Reimu is aware of that.

"GREAT! NOW THAT THIS SITUATION HAS BEEN SOLVED, WE CAN FINALLY MOVE ON TO THE REASON WHY YOU'RE EVEN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Papyrus gestures towards the kitchen and starts walking towards it, so Reimu follows him over. In doing so, Reimu stares blankly at the room she has just entered, finding it very disturbing: a strange box ( _another_ box, Reimu notes in frustration) she cannot possibly figure out the use of is close to the entrance at the left corner, and a counter extends next to it; not only that, but in front of her is a very, very tall counter for reasons she cannot fathom; finally, to her right is a simple trash can. However, Papyrus urges Reimu towards the counter on the left, where a plate of a certain food lies in wait for her. "SPAGHETTI, OF COURSE!"

Reimu gives him an expectant look. "So I finally get to eat?"

"ABSOLUTELY!" Papyrus opens a drawer from the counter and removes a fork and a knife from it. Afterwards, he gives them to Reimu, who awkwardly takes them. "TO PREVENT ANY OTHER INCIDENTS, I'LL BE WATCHING YOU THIS TIME SO THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY! JUST EAT UP AND LET YOUR WORLD BE EXPANDED WITH THE GLORIOUS TASTE OF HOMECOOKED PASTA!"

 _At least this time, it looks like I won't have to worry about Sans doing anything..._ From those thoughts, Reimu speaks up, "Wait, now that you mention it, where's Sans?"

"SANS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF THE HOUSE! LIKE THE LAZY BROTHER HE IS, HE LEFT FOR GRILLBY'S INSTEAD OF TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS ACTIONS, SO I WAS THE ONE WHO HAD TO CLEAN EVERYTHING!" Papyrus responds as if such a thing were a common occurrence. "SPEAKING OF THAT, BEFORE LEAVING, HE TOLD ME TO TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE HIS CONDOLENCES! I DON'T KNOW WHY HE SAID SOMETHING LIKE THAT BUT THEN AGAIN, NOT EVEN I CAN UNDERSTAND HIM SOMETIMES. IT'S PROBABLY ANOTHER ONE OF HIS PRANKS."

 _Condolences...?_ Reimu mentally repeats, confused. _Now that I think about it, he has been hinting at something bad all this time, but I wonder what the big deal is..._ Not feeling up to thinking that hard about whatever Sans means, Reimu shrugs. "Alright," she says before awkwardly stabbing her fork down at the spaghetti. She has seen silverware before, but she has barely used it. Even so, she can already tell Papyrus has nothing else to offer her, so she decides to try eating with a fork regardless of her experience with it.

... Naturally, that involves using her barrier-related abilities to push the spaghetti to her fork rather than moving it at all, only doing so to secure the pasta she gathered with her special powers. Even so, she ends up barely keeping any of the spaghetti in the fork when she raises it in the air, most of it falling back to the plate.

With a blank gaze, Reimu takes a bite of the little mound of spaghetti she managed to collect... and immediately regrets her decision right afterwards. "Agh!" Reimu gags at the practically toxic reaction of her taste buds being in contact with Papyrus's spaghetti, an indescribable sort of extreme displeasure haunting her the more she processes just what exactly she is eating. Reimu puts a hand over her mouth in disgust, already figuring she is going to throw up that food, if she could even call it 'food': it is practically inedible.

However, before she can even spit that spaghetti out, she finds that it's dissolving; Reimu flinches in the midst of her trembling. Despite the fact that it's _dissolving,_ something no normal food should ever do, it's further brought to her attention the fact that it's dissolving _into her:_ she can feel that spaghetti within her, giving her the opposite of strength. Instead, she feels weaker and sluggish, adding to the whole experience. "What... the..."

While she is unable to even lift up her head from the utter disgust she is feeling, if she were able to do so, she would've definitely showed Papyrus an expression no one could successfully put in words. "THAT REACTION...!" Reimu does not even fully process those words from Papyrus, being in the middle of recovering from the shock of the food she had eaten. "YOU MUST BE SO IMPRESSED BY MY COOKING THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN SPEAK PROPERLY!"

Reimu starts coughing violently, as if attempting to expel the horrible taste that still lingers in her mouth. This doesn't work, as expected, but it does serve to recover some of her awareness of the situation. Due to that, she can only think of these words, and doesn't hesitate to say them out loud:

"Now I get... what Sans meant..."

Afterwards, Reimu turns to Papyrus, who seems to be in utter bliss in light of Reimu's reactions. Seeing that, Reimu can't even think up any words to tell him, still pondering Sans. _He knocked that plate down so I wouldn't have to eat this... He knew it tasted terrible...!_ And 'terrible' is already an understatement.

However, why would Sans make her not eat the spaghetti then, but not now? Either way, Papyrus would never forget about feeding her spaghetti, so what advantages could there even be to doing so? With barely any thought put into it, Reimu glances at the leg warmers. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, HUMAN? IT'LL GET COLD IF YOU DON'T HURRY!" Reimu immediately snaps out of her thoughts, and faces Papyrus with a serious expression.

"I'll... pass on that," she answers, only not being completely assertive about it because she is still feeling the taste of the spaghetti in her mouth. "I don't think I can take another bite of it..." _I might just die if I eat any more of that,_ Reimu thought while glancing at the spaghetti. Just in case, Reimu takes a step back.

The taste is starting to get fainter and fainter, gradually improving Reimu's (currently awful) mood. "AH, I SEE. SO IT'S TOO GOOD FOR YOU TO EVEN EAT MORE THAN ONE BITE!" Knowing Papyrus actually means no harm with those words, Reimu simply groans in response, not wanting to think about her experience with Papyrus's spaghetti.

"Just take that out my sight," Reimu says, suddenly feeling very tired. Even though she took a nap, it seems like the spaghetti somehow sapped all the energy she had gained from it. Even so, this doesn't surprise Reimu, seeing as its taste and properties in general were more than human.

 _Seriously, what did I just eat? That wasn't normal food..._ "WELL, SINCE YOU DID TRY MY SPAGHETTI, I GUESS I CAN JUST RESERVE THE LEFTOVERS FOR ANOTHER TIME." Reimu hopes that time will be never; she takes note never to make him show it to her again. _Wait, now that I think about it, wouldn't spaghetti just pass right through a skeleton? So why would this one like that kind of food? Unless..._

As Papyrus takes the plate away from the counter it was on, Reimu's expression turns blank. _That food is especially made for them; it's why it dissolves into you rather than passing through the body... So, I just ate monster food._ Suddenly, everything starts making sense to Reimu: it truly wasn't Papyrus deceiving her, but simply the fact that the food he prepared for her just wasn't healthy for her body, seeing as she is human. With that in mind, Reimu frowns. _Ew, never again._

After having processed such a discovery, Reimu finds a note in place of the plate, as if it had been under it all this time. She takes it, and reads:

'could've been worse. at least you didn't have to eat his first tries.'

... Reimu crumples Sans's note into a tiny paper ball and throws it at the trash can.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

And so, of course, Reimu tastes Papyrus's spaghetti! She actually misunderstood everything about the spaghetti: while it totally is monster food, monster food isn't unhealthy; it just doesn't need to be digested (probably because it isn't physical). Oh, and yes, monster food is an actual, canon thing, just sayin'. **Edit:** lol apparently Papyrus has canonically never tried spaghetti himself, but from his actions in the game, he seems to like it a lot regardless and has people try it (such as Frisk and Sans), so take that, Toby Fox, this chapter is not OOC and I don't say anything about him having eaten spaghetti! 8D In any case, this chapter was pretty good for having Reimu interact with Papyrus and Sans, and lots of stuff happened here.

Like, for example, the Nice Cream Guy: I liked having Reimu talk to him. Reimu is pretty harsh, but that's because she treats everyone in the same blunt and straightforward manner: in general, despite acting like a jerk, Reimu means well. However, I definitely can't deny that she has a thing for beating stuff up... because she totally does. Kind of like how I'm just making the dogs being easily defeated into this sort of running gag for no reason whatsoever XD I mean, on one hand, I could have Reimu battle them properly, but on the other hand, it just didn't feel like it was worth it, and it's not like Reimu's gonna do any of the fun stuff Frisk could do in-game (like petting the dogs).

As for the puzzles, they weren't skipped. I mean, technically, Reimu got teleported to Snowdin, but it's for a break, just like Papyrus said; she resumes from the same point after this (somewhat). Basically, she's gonna have to solve the next puzzles anyway and Papyrus just really wanted Reimu to try his spaghetti. Like, I never put this into account when planning the story, but Reimu's lack of knowledge on basically anything technological or western is really making stuff happen, though having to describe such simple stuff with my subpar vocabulary is a admittedly a pain in the ass.

Oh, and by the way, no bad times are to be had in this story: I wasn't trying to reference the Genocide run by having Sans use his abilities to teleport or manipulate gravity. Instead, I literally just figured he'd make a joke about people barely using their special powers conveniently if I made him do that and because that would be all part of his plan. Besides, while his teleportation in general is made ambiguous, Papyrus totally knows about it seeing as he mentioned Sans pranking people through time and space or whatever. So, I figure it's not that hardcore of a secret; Sans is too chill for that.

Despite that, Sans is pretty calculating and perceptive in a lot of aspects: he's the kind of skeleton who barely does anything directly. He's cool with mostly watching things go forward, probably because he doesn't think actually taking direct action's worth it (at least, at this point). I mean, as violent and strange as Reimu is, there's no way Sans would dislike her; he can tell (kind of like how Reimu can intuitively tell a lot of things) that Reimu won't just go on a homicidal spree. I wondered about the extent of Sans's awareness of resets, and I honestly think that while he doesn't have the big picture, Sans probably retains the faintest sensations of what happens in each timeline: basically, he must have a lot of dejà-vu moments lol. Either way, I really, really love writing both Papyrus and Sans, their personalities are great for all sorts of humor and they're just awesome characters in general: surprisingly, they don't get along with Reimu too badly. If anything, Sans and Reimu get along really well 0.0

I wanted to put in Sans's whoopee cushion prank somewhere in this chapter but welp, it seems like that'll be later, when you least expect it... It'll happen though; it must. Also, I made Reimu wear leg warmers lol, what is wrong with me? I don't even like leg warmers, but I figured this could totally be a thing for some reason: besides, Papyrus's fashion sense seems hilariously lame enough for leg warmers XD Not only that, but I just wanted Reimu to talk with Papyrus properly (as 'properly' as one can ever converse with the great Papyrus) for once: Reimu's been getting so many moments alone with Sans because that's how it usually happens in the game, so I really wanted a similar one for Papyrus too. Unfortunately, it was to feed her spaghetti... But I think the rest was pretty cool.

You might've been expecting some extra scene of what's going with Marisa, but nah... there's not gonna be one every chapter. Anyway, I estimate that the next chapter will mark the end of Snowdin so uh... look forward to that? I love Snowdin, so I don't even know if that's a good thing or not ^^' It's at least better than the poor Ruins. Whatever the case, just look forward to more Papyrus and Sans for now!

 **Best deleted 'sentence' of this chapter:** 'Death By Spaghetti'

That was actually the original title of Chapter 3 since it seemed kind of accurate. However, Mettaton doesn't show up (technically), so I didn't want to mislead anyone with this sort of wordplay.


	4. Chapter 4

**First Words:**

* * *

 **b-wolf95 - It's no problem! I like responding to reviews :D Well, yeah, the Genocide Route involves killing absolutely everyone so if Reimu hasn't done that, she won't be getting such an ending for sure. So only those three options you mentioned are left! Hmmm... I'd reckon spoiling the ending would be quite wasteful even if it happens to be the neutral or pacifist ending, no? So I'll leave it a secret to look forward to! ^^ It's already planned out, after all. Whatever the case, thank you again for reviewing!**

 **Spirit - omg thank you ;_; Such kind words...! There are only 3 Touhou/Undertale crossovers (including mine) on this website, so now I'm wondering where you're reading those because I'd love to check them out too! The whole point of this story is to see what Reimu would do in this situation, how she'd react to everything and how everyone would react to her, so I definitely am putting more effort there! And characterization too, since that's just how I roll. After all, this premise would be a complete waste if everyone isn't in-character, so I'm trying my best! Anyway, thank you for reviewing!**

Wow, since the last chapter, this story got 15 favorites and 16 followers; still really big numbers. I'm honestly still astonished at the positive reception this crossover's getting since I never thought it'd be worthy of it ^^' Whatever the case, thank you again! I'll just hope this chapter won't be disappointing... Any and all typos regarding the word 'tsundere' are most definitely on purpose, by the way.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Heated Showdown at the Coldest of Grounds**

* * *

"here we go," Sans utters at the precise moment Reimu and Papyrus suddenly find themselves back at the last puzzle they have gone through. _This teleportation thing again... It's pretty convenient,_ Reimu admits in her mind while looking around. "guess you can't solve this puzzle anymore now that papyrus did it for you, huh?"

"IT WAS AN EMERGENCY! I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO FLIP THAT SWITCH!" Papyrus retorts. "SO WE CAN LET THAT SLIDE AND MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PUZZLE!" Papyrus points to the right, presumably to where the next puzzle is at. Meanwhile, Reimu yet again wonders what the point of these puzzles is in the first place.

Despite having been there, Reimu didn't get to see Snowdin at all: she only saw part of Sans and Papyrus's house and that was definitely not enough for her. In general, since she has nothing better to do, Reimu figures she might as well see all sorts of places in search for clues on how to get out of the Underground, which is not what she is doing right now. Instead, she is bearing with odd puzzles beforehand; Reimu softly sighs.

As the three start walking towards what Reimu assumes to be the puzzle, she asks, "What's the next one like?" The more information she could get, the easier it would be to solve it, she figured. Even then, Reimu hasn't gotten into any problems so far, the word search being the only exception.

"THE NEXT PUZZLE IS A PUZZLE ORIGINALLY CREATED BY THE GREAT DOCTOR ALPHYS! ITS COMPLEXITY WILL SURELY ASTOUND YOU, HUMAN!" _So it's not like_ you _came up with it..._ Reimu thinks, unimpressed.

"IT IS...!" While one would believe Papyrus just paused for dramatic tension, he actually stopped talking because he found himself in the aforementioned puzzle's area and wanted to rush to the other side of it. After running towards that direction and positioning himself next to a strange, rectangular apparatus Reimu has never seen before, Papyrus exclaims, "THE AMAZING COLORED TILE PUZZLE!"

As Sans casually walks through said 'colored tile puzzle', Reimu can't help but point out, "There isn't much color to these tiles. Are you sure this is going to work?" Papyrus's puzzles don't seem to work that often, so Reimu feels the need to know its dangers beforehand.

"THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S NOT TURNED ON YET! YOU'LL SEE!" Despite his words, Reimu is still staring at him skeptically... Sans reaches Papyrus's side, still grinning like usual. "HOWEVER, I MUST FIRST EXPLAIN TO YOU HOW THE PUZZLE WORKS! I'D TELL YOU SOME RULE OF PROPER DUELING BUT I LOST THE BOOK, SO... WE'RE SKIPPING THAT FOR NOW! THE SHOWDOWN ISN'T UNTIL THE END OF THESE PUZZLES ANYWAY!"

 _Now that I think about it, he hasn't mentioned anything about fighting... How absent-minded can you be to lose a book like that? Well, at least I won't have to listen to more awkward advice._ Having concluded that reasonably enough in her mind, Reimu instead decides to focus on the part where Papyrus said there would be a showdown.

Reimu attempts to imagine a fight with Papyrus, and fails horribly. What sort of powers does he even possess? Is he strong? Weak? It's admittedly hard to think of a duel with a skeleton so seemingly harmless. "SO, ONTO THE PUZZLE! THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PUZZLE IS TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE BY NAVIGATING THESE COLORED TILES! IT MIGHT SEEM EASY, BUT BELIEVE ME, IT'S MORE THAN IT LOOKS!"

"EACH COLORED TILE HAS ITS OWN FUNCTION DEPENDING ON ITS COLOR: RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE, SO YOU CAN'T GO THROUGH THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC, THEY'LL ZAP YOU IF YOU TOUCH THEM! GREEN TILES MAKE A SOUND, AND THEN YOU'LL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER!" Reimu glances at Sans in light of the sudden difficulty spike in Papyrus's puzzles; Sans shrugs at her. "ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED, THEY'LL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS! BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES, SWIM THROUGH THEM ALL YOU LIKE! HOWEVER...!"

Reimu gives Papyrus a blank look, not at all excited to know more about the puzzle. "IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES, THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU! PURPLE TILES MAKE YOU SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE, BUT YOU'LL ALSO SMELL LIKE LEMONS, WHICH THE PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PINK TILES... DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. YOU CAN WALK ON THEM JUST FINE."

"NOW, DID YOU UNDERSTAND THE EXPLANATION OR WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO REPEAT IT?"

Reimu immediately shakes her head. "Don't bother!" _I don't think I remember all of the tiles... but I sure don't want to hear that again._ It'd confuse her further, she figures. With a somewhat troubled look, Reimu asks, "So, guess I can't fly over that puzzle either, huh?"

"OF COURSE NOT! THAT WOULD BE CHEATING, AFTER ALL! AND I'M SURE YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN TOLD ABOUT HOW CHEATING IS OUT OF THE QUESTION!" Papyrus responds, still looking fairly positive despite Reimu's clear lack of interest in solving puzzles. "ANYWAY, IF YOU UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING, I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND INFORM YOU THAT THIS PUZZLE IS ENTIRELY RANDOM! WHEN I ACTIVATE THIS MACHINE," Papyrus says as he turns to the strange apparatus beside him, "IT WILL CREATE A PUZZLE NEVER SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION!"

 _Did he even know the solution for his other puzzles?_ Papyrus did just flip a switch to solve the previous one rather than touching the crosses and solving it properly. Despite that, Reimu simply dismisses the question from her mind, currently more focused on Papyrus's convicted yet seemingly excited expression; the puzzle is going to start, she figures. "ARE YOU READY, HUMAN? BECAUSE I'M GOING TO ACTIVATE IT RIGHT...!" Papyrus pauses. Reimu's eyes narrow at the tile puzzle. "NOW!"

Reimu doesn't bother looking up at Papyrus as he fiddles with the strange machine. However, at the sudden bright colors shining from the floor she is fixatedly staring at, Reimu's eyes widen in surprise. The colors flash rapidly, changing at every second as if the machine is deliberating on how to set them up. Reimu watches this in slight awe: the technology of the Underground is truly something she will never get used to.

Colors keep randomly changing in the tiles...

 **. . .**

They get faster...

 **. . .**

And faster... Reimu stands straight with a determined gaze.

 **. . .**

Then, it stops, though the assortment of colors isn't as diverse as Reimu expected. Instead, confusing her slightly, most of the floor is red with only a row of pink tiles extending towards the other side, as if creating a bridge for her. Reimu reminds herself of Papyrus's explanation and crosses her arms. "Huh..." _Weren't pink tiles the normal ones?_ Reimu smiles innocently. _Well, I guess I got lucky._

... As Reimu decides to step forward, Papyrus literally rolls out of the area without sparing her any words. Reimu stops in her tracks to process this, and then glances at Sans. _That puzzle must've hit him hard..._ Not wanting to linger on the puzzle any longer, she quickly walks towards the other side and reaches Sans with ease. "That sure was unexpected," Reimu remarks, a confused expression on her face as she goes over the past events in her mind.

The fact that Papyrus rolled out of the area in shame is still fairly hard to take in. "you mean random, right?" Sans winks. Reimu stares at him blankly for a while...

 **. . .**

"Actually, that's a good one," Reimu admits with a thoughtful expression. "I'd probably answer that too in your position." Reimu never thought she would find common ground with _Sans_ when it comes to sense of humor, but she doesn't consider such a surprise bothersome at all.

Besides, it still doesn't nullify the fact that Sans's puns are atrocious so Reimu finds herself with no right to complain. "what can i say? you were askin' for it," Sans responds with a carefree shrug.

"Sure, let's leave it at that." Reimu looks towards the path forward. "Anyway, do you know how many puzzles are left? I don't really feel like dealing with them." She mostly just intends on seeing Snowdin, having that showdown with Papyrus and find ways to cross the barrier, so the puzzles are not appreciated. If anything, Reimu is only going along with them because she committed herself to helping Sans out and doesn't want to turn back on her word.

Reimu could only imagine how much faster and straightforward it would be to just have a duel but alas, the Underground isn't Gensokyo and puzzles are supposed to never be avoided... "eh, like, one or two? you're almost there, at least," Sans says, "so hang in there, bucko."

"You don't have to tell me that!" Reimu counters, feeling like Sans is underestimating her. "And you better not be lying about how many puzzles are left. I don't wanna get my hopes up for no reason!"

Her sharp gaze fails to affect Sans, though she had already expected that. The way in which he is so relaxed and casual about every situation does make her wonder: most youkai that act in such a way are strong ones, and Sans doesn't look like he's that strong. He might possess his own set of powers, but nearly any youkai in Gensokyo have just as frightening abilities, and they are no indicators of true strength.

Not only that, but she still remembers roughening him up in the forest: a gut feeling of hers practically screamed at her not to seriously attack him. Due to that, Reimu used projectiles she would usually save for Spellcard Battles: such battles are designed not to kill the opponent, so the needles she threw at Sans were physically unable to do mortal damage. "heh, i'm not that cruel. i know you don't like puzzles," Sans responds, "it's pretty obvious. i like 'em but hey, to each their own, right?" He winks. "at least you're giving them a try."

"Well, yeah. I said I'd help out," Reimu states and frowns, seemingly troubled. "I didn't think I'd have to do all of this though." When she was simply considering Sans's favor, she thought she would only have to appear, use her subpar acting skills for a little while and leave; puzzles were not expected.

"tired already? didn't expect that out of someone as feisty as you," Sans casually remarks, though that simple remark was all it took to have Reimu stand up straight and proud with determination.

Offended, Reimu glares him down. "What do you mean with that, huh?! I'm not tired, especially when I've done nothing but simple puzzles! If anything, I'd much rather skip to the showdown your brother's been hinting at instead of solving more of those, and I'm pretty sure that requires more energy! Who are you to judge whether I'm fine or not anyway?"

"guess you're right about that," Sans says without much hesitation, "you definitely look alright. more than alright, even. shouldn't have doubted you at all."

At such a response, Reimu smiles proudly. "Obviously! How do you think I'd get by if I got tired from just this? I've gone through way worse!"

"then the rest of the puzzles should be a cinch for you." Sans playfully winks. "so don't let 'em rattle your bones like that."

... While Reimu could swear that was his attempt at reassuring her, the words he specifically used for it (clearly on purpose, Reimu notes) cannot simply be overlooked. "You just had to put it like that, huh? Ugh, fine, I get it; I've gotta move on. It's not like I was complaining that much anyway."

"i never said you were."

Reimu only huffs in response before walking away, in the direction Papyrus had rolled towards. _You sure acted like it though,_ Reimu adds in her mind. Despite that, not up to feeling sour about that conversation (which wasn't that bad to begin with), Reimu mutters, "Eh, whatever."

As she is about to smile in a carefree manner, she is greeted with the sight of a block of ice and a dog wearing armor staring at it intently. To the left of said dog is a sort of stand similar to the one she saw with the first dog monster she encountered; Reimu figures they are related. Due to that, she can't help but approach the dog with a curious expression on her face. "Hey, you."

The dog's ears perk up, but it doesn't even spare Reimu a glance. "What are you doing?" Reimu asks regardless, assuming it didn't hear her.

 **. . .**

The dog remains silent, even though Reimu is now fairly close to it. Reimu's eyebrows furrow as she frowns indignantly. "Didn't you hear me, you weird dog?"

No response. "What are you doing?!"

 **. . .**

Still... no response...

... Reimu's eye twitches. "You know what?" Reimu takes out ten needles; the dog is still unfazed. "You asked for it!" The dog does not even attempt to dodge, too focused on the block of ice for unknown reasons. From the impact of all needles on it, the dog is sent to the ground, yelping as it continues staring at the block of ice.

Reimu wants to stay angry at the dog, but it looks so pitiful now that she cannot bring herself to feel that way. Seemingly troubled, Reimu merely walks away without any words. _What was the deal with that dog...?_ Reimu briefly questions before spotting a monster resembling a deer at the corner; its demeanor seems casual.

Despite that, it has a distressed expression on its face as it gazes at Reimu. "What are _you_ looking at?" Reimu asks, feeling slightly annoyed at the fact that the monster is judging her rather than the other way around. Youkai are vile creatures: most are evil or self-centered by nature. Surely that deer monster has done its share of atrocities, so Reimu finds it hypocritical that it's so scared of her.

The deer-like monster immediately shifts its gaze to the side, as if it were never staring at Reimu to begin with. "Hmph..." Reimu considers beating it up, but decides such an action would be unnecessary for a monster already so scared of her and moves on to the next area.

... She hears a sigh of relief from behind her, but ignores it. _Geez, it doesn't need to be that frightened..._ Reimu then stops in her tracks, seeing icy ground before her: the only parts devoid of it have blue crosses on them, and there is no other way around the ice by ground. _Huh, a puzzle..._

 _Where's Papyrus?_ This time, he truly isn't in the area. Reimu crosses her arms whilst thoughtfully gazing at the puzzle she found. _Weird..._ She looks around, only to notice a path to the right that seems to have no ice on it. Curious, Reimu decides to go through it first, though she figures it probably doesn't lead to Papyrus and Sans.

... Being able to see a strange statue in the distance after a while, Reimu takes a step back. "I'll just go solve the puzzle," she mutters with an apprehensive smile as she starts floating back to the icy area. Since she is in the air, she has a complete view of the puzzle: various crosses are scattered throughout, and the path forward is seemingly missing.

Reimu figures she has to turn all those crosses into circles, so she lands on the one closest to her position, making its shape shift into that of a red circle. _So I could've just stepped on them? I should've known..._ On the previous ones, Reimu only touched the crosses with her hands, having thought that would be the only way to solve the puzzles.

With a fairly disinterested expression, Reimu floats towards another one, and another one... Only after stepping on all the crosses and turning them into circles does Reimu realize she probably isn't supposed to fly to solve the puzzle. "I guess the challenge was on getting through the ice..." _No wonder it seemed so easy before; I wasn't doing it properly._

... As Reimu flies towards the now revealed path forward, she mischievously smiles. "Oops."

Despite having already figured she shouldn't be flying, Reimu doesn't stop doing so. Instead, she continues flying the whole way through, finding that the path is darker than she anticipated. Suddenly, she feels something softly land on her head. "Woah!" That happens to be snow and as it is truly cold, Reimu attempts to shake it off, which fails due to the fact that more of it is still falling on her. "Ugh, I hate this!" Reimu whines before speeding forward, out of the dark path.

When she finally sees and feels light shine on her (making her wonder where it even comes from to begin with; this is an underground location), Reimu lands with a displeased frown before shaking snow off her head and clothes. _What was up with that weird path anyway...?_ Reimu sneezes, and shivers from the low temperature in her body. "Stupid snow..."

Reimu casts her eyes on the snowy ground, as if glaring the snow down.

... Finding such an action pointless, Reimu sighs tiredly. "I wonder how Gensokyo's doing without me..." The fact that she will continue to be away from her homeland for an unknown amount of time only serves to make her question its state: she is a Hakurei shrine maiden; she cannot afford to leave Gensokyo behind.

Gensokyo is her responsibility. That much won't change. "Though I guess Marisa probably took care of everything, huh..." _She's so fast,_ Reimu mentally adds, looking back on various events involving Marisa. _How she can even achieve those speeds with that broom of hers, I'll never know..._ "Well..." Reimu stretches her arms.

"If she's doing all the work for me, then I can't slack off either!" With a contented smile, Reimu continues forward.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"The same as always, huh," Marisa comments to herself when she lays eyes on the Hakurei shrine. There are no signs of anything suspicious in the area, so Marisa can't help but thoughtfully glance about. Not even a single sound can be heard from the shrine; the silence only serves to make Marisa frown. "Reimu? Are you around?"

Marisa expects no response, so she simply goes inside the shrine without hesitation. "Sure doesn't look like it..." _Just where did she go? Well, at least I'm now sure she's not sick,_ Marisa thinks, reminding herself of Sanae's words. _Not that I ever doubted that._ She smiles. _There's just no way someone like Reimu can get sick. With that many hours of lazing around per day? It's impossible._

"Why are you even looking for Reimu now?"

Surprised, Marisa blinks confusedly. "Who...?"

"Down here!"

Marisa looks down, only to find a mallet stuck to the top of some sort of miniature cottage; she grins. "Oh, Shinmyoumaru?" So as to actually localize her, Marisa crouches down to the level of Shinmyoumaru's tiny, temporary residence. "Didn't see ya there, sorry." Marisa finds Shinmyoumaru, as tall as a thumb, right at its entrance, pouting at her.

"You should just stop looking up all the time! What if you stepped on something?!" Shinmyoumaru complains with her arms crossed, as if scolding Marisa.

"What, like you?" Marisa offers with a teasing smile, knowing Shinmyoumaru would be offended at that. It hadn't been long since Marisa got to know Shinmyoumaru, but she could already tell she cared a great deal about her own height: after the powers of her Miracle Mallet depleted due to the previous incident and rendered Shinmyoumaru unable to make herself taller than her original height (her current one), she was offered a temporary home in the Hakurei Shrine, which made Marisa see her quite often. "Can't say I wouldn't see that sort of thing happen. How hasn't Reimu done that yet?"

Shinmyoumaru huffs indignantly. "She has! And it hurt a lot!" she responds, "That's why you giants should always look at the ground you're stepping on, you hear me?!"

"Loud and clear." Finding her crouching position uncomfortable, Marisa simply drops herself on the ground in a nonchalant manner. "So, I'm guessing that mallet's not recovered its power yet?"

Shinmyoumaru shakes her head, a saddened expression on her face. "Not at all! It'll be a huge while before I can make myself big..." She frustratingly sighs. "What do you even want anyway? You were calling for Reimu, but there's no way she'd be here now."

"And why's that?" Marisa questions.

Shinmyoumaru raises an eyebrow, skeptical of Marisa's words. "Because she's solving the incident, duh!"

Marisa gives her a wry smile. "Well, I hate to break it to ya but Reimu didn't even set foot on the mountain, much less solve the incident there," she explains, "In fact, that's why I'm looking for her."

"Huh?" Shinmyoumaru utters, shocked. "That can't be true. I saw her this morning; she told me she was going to solve it! Are you lying to me?!"

"I wish I were, but this is for real: no one's seen Reimu on that mountain, and someone else solved the incident." Marisa only refrains from mentioning Sanae because she isn't sure of whether Shinmyoumaru knows of her or not: Sanae had no part in the previous incident, after all. "I thought that was weird, so now I'm looking for her. I was hopin' she'd be at the shrine, but I guess it wouldn't be that easy, huh?"

Shinmyoumaru grimaces. "But she... She said she was going to solve it, and, and Reimu's really strong, right? So why didn't she take care of everything? It doesn't make any sense!" She has been beaten by Reimu once, so Shinmyoumaru knows of her strength well: from just how relentless she is, Shinmyoumaru never thought any true danger could befall Reimu.

"I know," Marisa states, "This hasn't happened at all before and trust me, Reimu and I go way back. Besides, if she even told you she was gonna take care of the incident, then she wouldn't just sidetrack without a really good reason for it." Thinking of all possibilities, Marisa frowns. "Basically, since she's neither at the mountain nor at the shrine... something must've happened to her."

"N-no way!" Shinmyoumaru immediately reacts, furiously shaking her head afterwards. "It just can't be! No one can beat Reimu!" It just doesn't sound plausible to her. It doesn't sound plausible to Marisa either.

Even so, where _is_ Reimu? Nowhere. "I know that too, and it's not like she wouldn't ask for a rematch even if she lost." Marisa smiles whilst reminiscing, though the thought of the worst case scenario prevents her from fully enjoying such memories. "She couldn't get into trouble over a Spellcard Battle."

"Yeah, see?! No one can die from Spellcard Battles, so Reimu didn't get done in!" The hopeful glint in Shinmyoumaru's eyes only serves to make Marisa smile wryly at her again. "And wasn't killing humans from Gensokyo against the rules? Reimu's important, so no youkai would've killed her!"

 _If only it were that simple..._ "You're right about that: it's against the rules," Marisa says, "But, y'know, not everyone plays by the rules."

Shinmyoumaru's eyes widen; recollection flashes in her mind. "You mean... someone might've..." Shinmyoumaru, above all, should have already learned not to be so naive after having been tricked into triggering the last incident. Feeling that isn't the case, she looks down at the floor in disappointment at her own behavior, combined with worry for Reimu's condition.

"Hey, let's not get too hasty," Marisa said, slightly surprised at just how saddened Shinmyoumary is about the situation. "I'm not saying Reimu's kicked the bucket. I mean, who knows what's going on with her? She could just be going somewhere completely different for some reason while I'm doing all this."

"... You think so?"

"What, you think Reimu would let herself get done in that easily?" This time, Marisa manages to playfully smile, hoping to lighten up the mood. "Because I wouldn't." Somewhat determined, Marisa stands up. "Anyway, what we do know is that Reimu's nowhere to be found when she should've been at that mountain: I'm pretty sure the disappearance of the Hakurei shrine maiden's nothin' short of an incident too. Guess Gensokyo's on a lucky streak now: practically three incidents in a row. And now that both Reimu and Sanae got to take care of the last two, I'd say it's my turn for this one!"

"You're going to look for her?" Shinmyoumaru asks, somewhat doubtful. Marisa seems confident, but the fact that Reimu's whereabouts are unknown still stands: she could be anywhere.

However, Shinmyoumaru, despite her doubts, can't help but admire Marisa's resolve. Marisa has known Reimu for much longer than Shinmyoumaru, and yet she is the calmest out of both of them. Perhaps it is because Marisa has known Reimu for that long that she can believe in her so easily and simply set out to check on her. "Of course I am. Who else is gonna do that, you? You're way too tiny to take care of anything right now."

"Sh-shut up! I'll get bigger eventually, just you see!" Shinmyoumaru whines, flailing her tiny arms around in anger.

Marisa can't help but chuckle at that, finding such actions from someone as small as Shinmyoumaru admittedly adorable despite the fact that she's angry at her. "Don't laugh!" Shinmyoumaru protests.

"Yeah, yeah," Marisa dismissively responds, and instinctively glances towards the exit while smiling in a carefree manner. "Well, I'm gonna get goin' now, alright? Trust me, when I get back, I'll have Reimu with me for sure!" With those words, Marisa dashes out of the shrine... only to return in a slightly slower pace with a devious smile on her face. "Even as a cooorpse..."

Shinmyoumaru shudders. "S-stop!"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Meanwhile, Reimu exhales and starts curiously staring at the snow poffs around her again; there are so many of them. She then glances at the dog monster she has just knocked out, its body practically blocking her path forward. Luckily, Reimu can fly, so this fact doesn't bother her. _But still, this dog was a bit tougher than the others... It was kind of surprising._

It had been even more surprising at the time when that dog had suddenly jumped at her while she was too distracted poking snow poffs. She had thought she could get a break after having gotten snow all over her from that dark path, but that wasn't the case at all, and she got instead caught off guard by the dog's big stature and adorable face.

For the sake of variety, Reimu simply whacked the dog with her Purification Rod repeatedly rather than throwing amulets around; it was quite effective (and completely cruel, seeing as the dog had expected her to throw the stick instead...). Reimu kicks the dog monster's armor lightly, and the dog only quietly yelps in response. "It's out alright..."

Reimu shrugs, and floats over the dog monster. She could have jumped over it, but Reimu is too used to flying to even think of such an option. However, after having floated over it, Reimu returns to walking, already spotting a bridge in the horizon. _So, Papyrus and Sans are..._ Immediately after noticing the bridge, Reimu sees the two skeletons on the other side. _Right there, huh._ "Hey!" she calls out, somewhat motivated.

According to Sans, there aren't many puzzles left, and Reimu is hoping Sans didn't lie. At the precise moment he hears Reimu's voice, Papyrus turns towards her. "HUMAN! PREPARE YOURSELF, BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE YOUR TOUGHEST CHALLENGE YET!" Reimu remains with a casual stance regardless of his words, skeptical at his challenges ever being that tough; Papyrus does not pick up on this. "BEHOLD... THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"

Blades, spikes, cannons, fire, a dog... An assortment of deadly weapons (and a dog) suddenly surrounds the bridge, making Reimu stare in awe. Now that seems dangerous... though it looks nothing like a puzzle. Even so, the fact that it actually seems challenging pleases Reimu. "WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANNONS WILL FIRE, SPIKES WILL SWING, BLADES WILL SLICE...!" The dramatic explanation only manages to motivate Reimu further. "EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN! ARE YOU READY?!"

"Ready? This is right up my alley; of course I'm ready." Reimu smiles confidently, expectantly gazing at Papyrus. Reimu's enthusiasm seemingly motivates Papyrus as well, as he looks prouder than usual. _I've just gotta dodge all that stuff, no big deal._

 _I've had to dodge worse._ "THEN I'LL!" Papyrus pauses. "ACTIVATE IT!" Another pause. "RIGHT...!" And another one... Reimu stretches, as if readying herself for her upcoming challenge. "NOW!"

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

However, nothing happens. "uh, papyrus? i don't think it's activated."

"WHAT?! N-NONSENSE!" Papyrus retorts, trying his best not to look nervous. "IT'S GOING TO BE ACTIVATED RIGHT... ABOUT... NOW!"

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

Reimu sighs. _Figures..._ "It's not working, is it?"

"nope."

Papyrus loudly clears his (non-existent) throat. "SHUT UP, SANS! I'VE ONLY NOT ACTIVATED IT YET BECAUSE... BECAUSE!" He glances to the side. "I HAVE REALIZED... THIS PUZZLE WOULD BE... IT WOULD BE TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH! I'M A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS! ALL OF MY PUZZLES ARE FAIR, AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS? IT HAS NO CLASS AT ALL! DEFINITELY NOT FITTING FOR A HUMAN WHO HAS NEVER EXPERIENCED THE TRUE GREATNESS OF PUZZLES! SO, AWAY IT GOES!"

"What?!" Reimu utters as she sees all of the dangerous weapons retracting from their positions. "Don't give me excuses! Besides, wasn't it 'proper' to have me solve puzzles?!"

"BUT THIS ONE WAS NOT A PROPER PUZZLE! IT WAS UNWORTHY OF BEING USED AS THE FINAL CHALLENGE!" Papyrus argues, "I COULD NOT SIMPLY GIVE LOW QUALITY PUZZLES TO THE HUMAN I HAVE TO CAPTURE!" Reimu's blank gaze clearly indicates her thoughts on Papyrus's excuses; Papyrus takes a step back. "A-ANYWAY, THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME IS WHEN YOU WILL TRULY HAVE TO BE PREPARED, HUMAN! BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN I WILL FINALLY CAPTURE YOU! LOOK FORWARD TO IT... IF YOU CAN! NYEH...! HEH HEH... HEH?"

On that awkward note, Papyrus quickly walks away, yet again leaving only Reimu and Sans in the area. Reimu simply walks through the bridge and approaches Sans, saying, "So, the showdown's next?"

"seems like it," Sans responds, "but now that you mention it, i've never told you anything about blue attacks, did i?"

"Not at all. What are those?" Reimu questions, seemingly curious.

"in general, blue attacks are like, uh. let me see... you know stop signs?"

Reimu awkwardly comtemplates Sans's question for a while. _Stop signs?_ "Signs that tell you to stop, I guess?" Reimu utters, a confused expression on her face. _I think I've seen Yukari pull stuff like that out of her gaps... Creepy._ "What does that have to do with blue attacks?"

"well..." Sans pauses. Judging by Reimu's words, he can tell she doesn't actually know of the stop signs he was referring to, rendering his analogy worthless. "you know what? forgeddaboutit. basically speaking, whenever someone's attacks are blue, you stop moving. all right?"

Reimu nods with a thoughtful expression, imagining such attacks. _Now that I think about it, all these monsters' attacks have been white in color... So white attacks are normal attacks and other colors have different attacks? That's pretty interesting._ "You mean I don't have to dodge those attacks?" Reimu asks to make sure she truly understands Sans's explanation.

"just don't move at all when they come at you," Sans casually reiterates, "blue attacks only hurt ya if you move." Yet again, something he feels is different this time around: Sans is sure he never had to explain blue attacks in this manner, because whoever he would talk to actually knew of stop signs. Reimu is clearly a completely different person, but that only makes room for many questions regarding her origins.

Not only that, but Sans doesn't even remember the timelines he knows he has gone through, so he technically has no evidence for such thoughts. "I don't have to move at all, huh...? Alright then." Reimu has faced attacks of that caliber before, so they don't particularly faze her. "Thanks for telling me that, I guess," she awkwardly says, "You know, you're being pretty helpful, for a weird skeleton youkai."

"heh, you'd make me blush if i could even do that. or can i...?" Sans winks. Truly, if Sans can wink despite being a skeleton, whether he can blush or not is something one can never be too sure of... not that Reimu dwells on such a question; she simply gazes at him blankly for that joke. "anyway, don't sweat it. you've been helpin' me out a lot already, so i guess you could say i'm returning the favor."

 _Makes sense, I suppose,_ Reimu thinks as she sees Sans shrug. "If you say so," Reimu concludes, looking just as nonchalant as Sans. "I'm gonna get going now; I've got a skeleton to take care of." Afterwards, Reimu starts walking off, a carefree smile on her face.

It's a harmless sort of smile, Sans notes and pensively closes his eye sockets. "good luck, buddy," he says, knowing Reimu is close enough to hear it. "not that you'll need it."

... Reimu's smile widens. _You bet I don't need any luck,_ she thinks, _I can get through this just fine._ Determined, Reimu quickens her pace, already spotting buildings in the distance. "Hmm...?" That is unexpected to Reimu: she is supposed to have her showdown with Papyrus, and Papyrus is supposedly up ahead.

However, Snowdin is what she sees rather than another snowy area with a confident Papyrus lying in wait for her. "Weird..." _So this was the path to Snowdin? That's kind of convenient, now that I think about it._ After all, Reimu wanted to see the town properly, and she can now do so since Papyrus and Sans lead her there with the puzzles. _I wonder where Papyrus is though... Are we going to battle in the middle of the town or something?_

She finds that unlikely, and as she casually enters the town, she sees no signs of Papyrus. A fairly large building (in comparison to the others in the town) is the first one Reimu comes across, and she can see a familiar box nearby. _Isn't this the one with the suspicious sign next to it? How did it move from one place to the other?_ She then looks towards the left door, noticing above it a sign that reads out, 'SHOP'.

"That's straightforward enough," Reimu mutters while glancing at the right, where another door is located; the sign above it reads out 'INN'. _So it's two businesses in one building? Kind of strange, but alright. I don't really need to go to either of these anyway, especially when youkai are managing it all._ Besides, Reimu has no money.

With that in mind, Reimu decides not to go inside that building and continues moving forward. However, she immediately stops when she spots a tunnel of sorts. The sign next to it seems to indicate this is a shortcut that can lead her from one part of the town to the other, which Reimu doesn't need at the moment. While the design of the tunnel's entrance intrigues Reimu, she finds it a better course of action to move on.

Right next to the tunnel she found, to her surprise, is a bunny-like monster staring intently at another bunny-like monster, as if greatly disturbed. The other bunny monster seems content, and has a smaller bunny creature on a leash; Reimu raises an eyebrow skeptically at this scene. _Child abuse...?_ Somewhat disturbed herself, Reimu approaches the male bunny monster near the tunnel. "Hey, what's going on over there?"

"Huh?" The bunny monster reacts, surprised at someone suddenly speaking up to him. "W-well, that's what I'd like to know, really... I mean, doesn't that somehow look awfully disturbing to you? It sure does to me." _'Somehow'?_ The fact that he is uncertain of his feelings confuses Reimu slightly, but as she stares at that bunny monster with him for a while longer, she narrows her eyes.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," Reimu announces and immediately starts walking.

Shocked, the bunny monster flinches. "Wait, that's...!" However, he can tell Reimu could no longer hear him so he simply opts to watch from a distance, seemingly distressed.

"Hey, you," Reimu calls out to the female bunny monster with no traces of politeness, which is typical of Reimu. However, to the male bunny monster observing her, it only made him more nervous about the situation, especially when seeing the female bunny look towards Reimu with a quizzical expression. "What are you doing?"

The bunny monster smiles excitedly at hearing Reimu's question, gripping her leash harder. "I'm taking my cute little Cinammon for a walk! Isn't he just so adorable?"

"Why are you keeping a pet of your own species?" Reimu bluntly asks, frowning in a troubled manner. "That makes no sense."

The bunny monster narrows its already tiny eyes. "He's not my pet," she responds, "He's my little brother! And I'm going on a walk with him. Is there any problem?"

Reimu blinks twice in a row, processing the monster's answer... Afterwards, she grimaces. "If I were you, I'd ask my brother that. At least, I'm pretty sure no one would like to be on a leash." While Reimu has the duty of defeating youkai, this one in particular has not bothered any human, so Reimu finds herself with no real reason to do so. Besides, it'd be a waste of time fighting all the residents of this town, Reimu figures: she must focus on returning to Gensokyo.

Meanwhile, the female bunny monster gasps, incredulous. "How rude...!" she exclaims, "What me and my bun-bun have between us is special, _special!"_

 _"Especially_ creepy, you mean," Reimu retorts and deviously smiles at the bunny monster, expecting her reaction.

The female bunny monster finds herself at a loss for words; Reimu's smile widens. In a last attempt to remain unaffected by Reimu's words and actions, she huffs in disdain. "You wouldn't understand!" She walks away from the area at a fast pace after uttering such words, leaving Reimu to proudly stand in the same position while seeing her, the loser in her perspective, escape.

... Reimu then reminds herself of the male bunny monster's existence, and heads over to him. "Did you hear all that?" she asks just to make sure of whether she has to tell him what happened or not.

"Yeah..." the bunny mutters, "You were brutal. But still, I guess someone would have had to tell her off someday. I'm just glad that wasn't me."

"I don't think it made a difference," Reimu responds, seemingly thoughtful. "The only way you can get through to those kinds of close-minded monsters is with a beating, and even then..."

... He is no longer sure whether to be disturbed by Reimu or the other bunny monster. "Err, nevermind," Reimu says, realizing that elaborating on the topic of exterminating youkai in front of one isn't a good idea. "I'll be going now, and if that bunny comes back, you should just go up to her for me; I'm no messenger." With those words, Reimu starts walking away while casually waving at the bunny monster from behind.

The bunny monster feels conflicted, so he finds himself staring at Reimu intently now instead of the other bunny monster; nothing changed, he notes. The fact that she's no longer waving at him and is now focused on the decorated tree in front of her makes him feel even more disturbed at himself for his behavior. Has he become a stalker...?

"What's up with that tree?" Reimu asks the bear monster near it, who seems to be looking at the presents underneath it. "Is it Christmas already?" Reimu has heard of this Outside World event, but she has admittedly never bothered celebrating it before. She isn't sure of whether residents of the Human Village do so because she doesn't live with them, but she is sure at least one or two have taken up its strange traditions out of it being something from the Outside World.

However, Reimu, in general, never feels the need to know of such things; she ends up finding out about them from youkai she beats up anyway (the more tech-savy ones). For example, Reimu got introduced to devices that allow her to speak with other people from long distances by Yukari when she had to go solve an incident in the Underworld; Aya introduced her to cameras; Rinnosuke possesses a variety of strange, technological items; and Nitori... introduced her to many strange, equally technological things (like camouflage suits; Reimu decides to move on from that train of thought). Not to mention the simply incomprehensible technology she has witnessed from the Lunar Capital... Basically, the amount of incidents she solves make up for her lazy attitude when it comes to technology.

Slowly, the bear monster turns to Reimu. "Christmas? I don't know about that, but if you're asking about this then well, you see, awful teens tormented a local monster by decorating its treelike horns," he explains, "So we started giving that monster presents to make it feel better. Now it's a tradition to put presents underneath a decorated tree."

"Huh... It's basically the same thing, but with a different story," Reimu states and crosses her arms. The Underground has a lot of technology Reimu doesn't know of, and yet isn't knowledgeable on things like Christmas: it is a strange thought for Reimu.

"Is it?" the bear questions, intrigued. "If I remember it correctly, I think I may have heard of that before... Humans celebrate it on the surface, don't they?"

Reimu nods, though not in an assertive manner. "I think so." _Who knows what goes on in the Outside, really?_

"Then we'll just leave it at that," the bear monster calmly concludes, smiling at Reimu, "It's not like any of us can go to the surface either way." The hint of sadness in the bear monster's demeanor makes Reimu frown, as she thinks, _So these monsters are just as stuck as I am..._

 _If this bear knew a way out, he wouldn't be saying all this; it's not worth asking him._ "Alright then," Reimu says, "Thanks for explaining stuff to me, I guess."

"You're welcome." Reimu hears this as she leaves, passing by a somewhat short monster with no arms wearing a striped shirt. Then, she comes across a strange, orange building to her left: 'Grillby's' is what the sign on top reads out, confusing Reimu. _What's this supposed to be?_

Seeing a brown bear monster nearby, Reimu assumes he is knowledgeable on that building and approaches him. "Hey, what's this building?" Reimu asks with a curious expression on her face.

"This one?" The bear monster points at the building behind him. "You're new to these parts, aren't you? I've sure never seen you before." Despite those words, the bear monster seems conversational, and amused by Reimu's question. "This place is Grillby's: it's the most popular bar in town... and the only one around; Grillby runs it. The dogs from the Royal Guard tend to hang out there but strangely enough, I haven't seen them at all today..."

 _Those dogs were from the Royal Guard?_ Reimu glances to the side. _Well, I guess I shouldn't tell this monster I beat them all._ "Well, if anything happened to them, we can always have a skeleton call over a fish lady to take care of the problem," the bear monster states, "Thaaaaat's politics!"

 _A fish lady?_ "If you say so," Reimu says. _I can't say I don't agree with those politics,_ Reimu thinks as she recalls her own job, which does involve people requesting her services. It makes perfect sense to Reimu that the Undeground functions in a similar manner. "I'll just get going." _I don't have any reason to go to a bar._

"See ya!" Beyond Grillby's, there are two paths she can take: one of them is to her left, and the other one is right in front of her. Figuring she wouldn't be fully exploring the town if she were to take the path forward, Reimu walks towards the left instead.

Before her, she doesn't see as much as she was expecting: a rather disappointing number of houses is at one side, and a small, strange building with a wolf-like monster throwing ice cubes onto a river is at the other. _What is this for?_ Reimu is admittedly curious about the wolf monster throwing ice, so she goes up to the fence separating them and shouts, "Hey! You there!"

The wolf monster glances at her with an ice cube on its hands, but doesn't speak and simply throws that ice cube towards the river. "What are you doing?!" Reimu loudly asks, wanting the monster to hear her. _Don't tell me this is gonna be like that dog monster..._

"Ice Wolf is too busy throwing ice," the monster responds while throwing yet another ice cube at the river, "Don't speak with Ice Wolf." Reimu frowns, but finds it justifiable of the monster to say that: whatever he is doing, it seems he needs to do it with perfect timing, lest he'd want rows of ice cubes taking over the whole space.

While she is still curious about Ice Wolf, Reimu decides to leave him alone and turns to the opposite side: three small, slime-like creatures can be found there, the two smallest ones interacting with each other. Due to that, Reimu only walks towards the one with the moustache (the biggest one), finding him the strangest out of the three. "What's that wolf monster doing?" she asks him, figuring he would be able to answer her.

"Hmm? Ice Wolf, you mean?" The slime pauses, as if processing Reimu's question further. "In all my years living in this town, I can safely tell you that... Since there have been monsters throwing ice cubes even before I was born, I have no idea. Oh, to be young again...!"

... Reimu gives him a blank look. "Whatever," she utters before leaving, finding that the slime is not even paying attention to her anymore. She can see there is a path up ahead, so she steps towards it. However, she quickly sees nothing but a river in the distance, so she narrows her eyes. _Well, this was disappointing..._

She walks all the way back to Grillby's, and stares at the path she has yet to go to for a while: she can already spot a building, one that could be worth checking out. That motivates her somewhat, so she continues her exploration of Snowdin.

When she gets to said building, she finds that on its sign is written, 'Librarby'. Confused, Reimu decides to go in, and is greeted by a reasonable assortment of books, all stored in their respective shelves. To her left she sees a counter, where a green monster is calmly standing behind. Near the shelves is a table occupied by three different monsters, all of them looking fairly entertained.

Seeing as this establishment seems to have books as its focus, Reimu connects the dots. _Wait, this is a library?_ "Welcome to the library," the green monster says, as if on cue. "Yes, we know. The sign is misspelled."

... Feeling like she has wasted her time, Reimu glares at the monster. "Fix it then! What if someone misunderstands? I only found out this was a library now, you know?"

"Well, if you'd peeked through the window, I think you could figure this is—"

"Don't give me any lousy excuses! No one's supposed to peek to find out what some establishment is!" Reimu argues, interrupting the monster. It insulted her that she is the one who apparently has to figure everything out, rather than the proprietor of the building actually having to correct the sign for other people not to be confused.

A library shouldn't present itself in such a way to begin with. Either way, from the noise she made, the three monsters at the table turn to her. "Ssshh!"

"S-sorry," Reimu awkwardly utters, having realized yet again that she is in a library. "Anyway," she says in a quiet tone, "you should do something about that if you actually care about your own library. I'm out of here."

Reimu has no interest in books, after all. She doesn't leave time for any of the monsters in the library to respond to her because she doesn't feel up to conversing further with them, knowing it wouldn't lead anywhere. Youkai are stubborn, prideful creatures: convincing them to change their ways is usually a pointless effort.

When she exits the library and faces her left, her eyes widen in surprise. _Papyrus and Sans's house! It was this close by?_ Reimu immediately dashes towards it. _Maybe Papyrus is over here._ Since he seems to be nowhere in the rest of Snowdin, he might as well be in his own house. To her surprise, the door is actually unlocked.

She didn't truly believe Papyrus would want a duel in his own house, but now the odds of that happening are fairly high in her mind. She opens the door and finds Papyrus and Sans's living room, with no changes whatsoever. There are, however, no signs of Papyrus. "No showdown here after all, huh..." Reimu mutters as she looks around.

Glancing at the kitchen gives her bad memories, so she shifts her gaze to the table. A rock is standing on a tiny plate, seemingly covered in sprinkles. Reimu raises an eyebrow at that, but decides not to question it and moves to the left, towards the TV and the couch. The couch looks tempting... Reimu sits on the comfortable couch.

... At the precise moment Reimu notices something underneath her, she hears the somewhat loud sound of a fart, its origin being whatever she is sitting on. Slightly startled rather than embarrassed or angry, she gets off the couch immediately to see what exactly caused the sound: what she encounters on the couch is a small, red cushion, which confuses her. _This is what did that? Weird..._

 _Wait, was this supposed to be a prank?_ Reimu only realizes this now, having processed that what that cushion emmitted definitely was the sound of a fart, and that in public, that would make for a fairly embarrassing moment. As she thought of it further, this truly seems like a prank fairies would play on others; Reimu narrows her eyes. "Alright, who did this?" she says out loud, hoping for the culprit to come out.

Since Reimu is in Papyrus and Sans's house, there is no way anyone else but the two could have pranked her. "Show yourself already, Sans!" With that in mind, it's easy to conclude that out of the two brothers, Sans is the one who pulled that off. "Sans?!" The sound of a door opening is heard from above.

Reimu immediately flies to the first floor, and finds Sans in front of the door to the right, which has strange colored lights shining through it; Reimu decides not to question it. "'sup?" Sans casually says, seeing her float in place. "not gonna land or anything?"

Reimu ignores his question. "You put that thing on the couch, didn't you?"

"you mean the note?" Sans winks.

"Note?" Reimu floats towards the couch to verify his words, and, to her surprise, sees a note on top of the whoopee cushion. _This wasn't here before... right?_ She takes it while still floating and reads what is written on it:

'gotta watch where you sit down, kid.'

... Reimu would've crumpled the note, but there is still more written on it so she refrains from doing so.

'and remember: blue attacks.'

Reimu glares at the note for a while. She then turns around and looks up, towards the first floor. "Couldn't you have just told me this?!"

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

Getting no response, Reimu angrily flies upwards again, but this time, she finds no one. Reimu sets foot on the hallway of the first floor and heads for the door he had been standing in front of. Reimu attempts to open it, but finds that the door with light coming out of it is locked; she scowls. "Ugh, you better come out of there, you hear me?!"

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

No response again. Reimu sighs... Before noticing a note on the floor nearby. With narrowed eyes, Reimu picks it up.

'nope.'

... Two ying-yang orbs materialize behind Reimu. "You're going to regret saying that!" Reimu smiles in a devious, albeit convicted manner. "Or writing that since it's a note. Well, either way, you're going down!"

Reimu has the two floating ying-yang balls slam into the door, only for them to disappear completely when they're just about to reach it. "Wha...?!" Reimu instinctively turns around and widens her eyes in shock at the same ying-yang orbs now flying towards her at fast speeds, as if teleported to that position. "Tch!" Reimu makes them fade away before they hit her, still feeling slightly startled.

 **. . .**

Reimu sighs in relief. _I don't know how that happened, but I'm glad everything's alright..._ She then glares at the door. _That weird skeleton... He's got more powers than he lets on._ "Ugh, whatever, I wasn't supposed to be here anyway." Reimu jumps off the first floor and then gently floats towards the ground, a displeased expression on her face. _I guess I shouldn't sneak into houses to begin with, but he still acted like a jerk._

 _Well, since we were both out of line, I'll consider us even, I suppose._ When she lands on the ground floor, Reimu walks out of Papyrus and Sans's house. "Let's just look for Papyrus," Reimu mutters while looking around. To the right of the house is another one of those tunnels (presumably its end), and next to that is a small building, about half the height of the residence Reimu has just exited.

Curious, Reimu approaches it and attempts to open its door, but to no avail; it's locked. "Figures..." Reimu looks towards the right: there seem to be no more buildings from this point onwards, so Reimu assumes Snowdin ends here. _So this path leads somewhere else, huh? Maybe Papyrus is over there._

With that in mind, Reimu decides to go along the path. However, as she does so, she notices the temperature slowly dropping. Chilling wind blows through the path Reimu is treading on, growing stronger the farther she goes. _I'm so glad for these leg warmers..._ Reimu thinks while looking down, but she can barely see them. In fact, Reimu can barely see what's in front of her at this point, as if she were in the middle of a rather strange snow storm. _What the heck sort of place is this?_

"HUMAN." At that voice, Reimu stops in her tracks. She sees a tall silhouette in front of her, one that definitely resembles Papyrus. "SO YOU CAME FOR OUR SHOWDOWN. AS EXPECTED OF YOU," he calmly states, though his tone is still somewhat loud. Reimu crosses her arms from the temperate, gazing at Papyrus expectantly. "YOU KNOW THIS ALREADY, BUT THIS IS YOUR FINAL STEP, YOUR FINAL LESSON! AND, WELL, HUMAN. ALLOW ME TO BE FRANK WITH YOU."

 _What is he building up to with this?_ Reimu questions in her mind, but remains silent. "WHILE YOU HAVE MADE A LITTLE PROGRESS SO FAR, YOU STILL HAVE MUCH TO LEARN! I CANNOT CONSIDER YOU A CONNOISSEUR OF UNDERGROUND CUSTOMS BY ANY MEANS!" Reimu resists the urge to sigh. "IN FACT, I CANNOT EVEN CONSIDER YOU KNOWLEDGEABLE ON THE WAYS OF THE WORLD, LET ALONE THE UNDERGROUND! YOU DON'T ENJOY PUZZLES, YOU HAVE ONLY EATEN SPAGHETTI ONCE IN YOUR LIFETIME AND YOU ARE MUCH TOO VIOLENT! NOT ONLY THAT, BUT YOU DON'T SEEM TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MODERN TECHNOLOGY!"

"IT'S SADDENING, HUMAN," Papyrus says, "TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING SUCH A BLEAK, LONELY LIFESTYLE, MORE ISOLATED FROM THE WORLD THAN THE UNDERGROUND WE STAND ON AT THIS VERY MOMENT. HOWEVER, WORRY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE DECIDED TO BECOME YOUR TUTOR AND FRIEND, AND MAKE YOU INTO THE BEST PERSON YOU COULD EVER BE!"

 **. . .**

... Reimu's eye twitches. "That's it," she states, "You've crossed the line, you weird skeleton! First off, who are you to judge me and my lifestyle?! In my opinion, your stupid puzzles make much less sense than my approach, and I'm not even going to mention what I think about your spaghetti! What makes you assume all that about my homeland anyway?! I'll let you know it's an isolated location for its own good and I'm not going to tolerate you berating it any longer!"

"And don't act like you're better than me! I'm pretty sure the last thing I need is a tutor, much less a youkai one! I live off of taking down monsters like you, so I sure as heck don't need to you as a friend either! With _that_ in mind..." Reimu exhales, wanting to calm down.

... However, she fails, and points her Purification Rod at Papyrus in anger. "I'm gonna beat you up, and prove you wrong once and for all!"

 **'*You challenge Papyrus to a FIGHT.'**

"H... HUMAN... TO THINK YOU WOULD GO TO SUCH LENGHTS... TO HIDE HOW YOU TRULY FEEL FOR ME!" Reimu gags, thrown aback by Papyrus's statement.

"How do you even get to that conclusion?!" Being caught so off guard by Papyrus's ludicrous words, Reimu's turn accidentally passes. "Wait...!" _Damn it, my turn...!_

Reimu scowls. She knows Papyrus didn't do that on purpose, but she is still quite angry. "IT'S SIMPLE LOGIC, HUMAN! YOUR VIOLENT DEMEANOR, THE FACT THAT YOU KEPT ON SOLVING MY PUZZLES DESPITE SUPPOSEDLY NOT BEING INTERESTED IN THEM... ANYONE CAN TELL THAT UNDERNEATH YOUR COLD, RUTHLESS EXTERIOR, YOU HIDE A SOFT, COMPASSIONATE SIDE THAT TRULY ADMIRES MY GREATNESS!" Reimu give him a blank look as she sees on the black screen her soul is located a few tiny bones sliding towards the left, never leaving its lower edge. Since Reimu's soul is floating in the middle, the bone attacks aren't even close to connecting, so the whole turn seems purposeless in Reimu's perspective. _Don't tell me he was this weak all along..._

"LET'S SEE... WHAT WAS IT CALLED AGAIN?" Papyrus wonders out loud. "OH, I REMEMBER! 'TSUNDEERE' IS WHAT UNDYNE CALLED PEOPLE LIKE YOU! BUT NOW THAT I HAVE COMPLETELY UNRAVELED YOUR ACT, YOU CAN START SHOWING ME YOUR TRUE FEELINGS! FEAR NOT, HUMAN! I WILL ACCEPT THEM WHOLEHEARTEDLY... IN PLATONICAL WAYS. PERHAPS YOU WANT A HUG FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS...?" While Papyrus deviously narrows his eye sockets, Reimu can't help but grimace at how terribly he misunderstood her words. Meanwhile, Papyrus's turn ends.

 **'*Papyrus is waiting for your hug.'**

 _Seriously...?_ "You're really starting to get on my nerves," Reimu says, "If I can't get through to you by words, then I'll make sure you'll finally understand when I defeat you!" A flurry of amulets are shot in Papyrus's direction, aiming specifically at him. Even while he apprehensively attempts to dodge, the amulets move in his direction like they were designed to.

In the end of her turn, Reimu takes 29 HP from Papyrus. "SO YOU'RE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS DUEL. YOU WANT TO PROVE ME WRONG THAT BADLY..." Papyrus mutters. "THEN LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK'!"

Reimu smirks. Just as expected, light blue bones of different sizes on either the upper or lower edge of the screen slide to the left, all of them at different speeds. Instinctively, Reimu's soul moves a little to the left as well, but becomes still soon afterwards, making Reimu watch as the attacks go right past her soul without dealing any damage. _So Sans was right after all..._

... Reimu flinches at the moment she sees the heart representing her soul turning dark blue. "Huh...?" It falls down to the lower edge of the screen, as if now affected by gravity. "What?!" No matter how much Reimu wills it in her mind, her soul does not fly like it used to. A small white bone swiftly comes towards the left and hits her, dealing 4 damage to Reimu. "No way...!"

 **'*You're blue now.'**

Already, her HP has been reduced to 16; Reimu scowls. "YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" _Sans didn't tell me about this!_ Now that Papyrus's turn has ended, Reimu feels the need to get more serious. After all, she doesn't possess much HP, and she cannot tolerate losing to a skeleton like Papyrus.

 **"Dream Sign: Evil-Sealing Circle!"** The spellcard emerges and shines, making rows upon rows of amulets materialize. The rows are all diagonal and make for a grid of sorts, one that is constantly moving to one side, and then to the next... Not only that, but additional bullets are shot out to force the opponent (in this case, Papyrus) to dodge even within the supposed safe spaces the grid of amulets creates. While Papyrus has been getting training from Undyne, he is not skilled enough to completely get through such a complex pattern.

Reimu's spellcard deals 67 damage to Papyrus; she ends her turn. "YOU'RE STRANGE, HUMAN. EVEN WHEN I HAVE COMPLETELY FIGURED YOU OUT, YOU STRUGGLE TO PLAY IT COOL. HOWEVER, MY OFFER STILL STANDS! LET ME HELP YOU, HUMAN!"

"Not happening!" Reimu responds while bracing herself for Papyrus's turn. Her soul is still blue in color; she still cannot fly. Then how is she to dodge bones that stick to the screen's edges? "I don't need your help for anything like that, and I'm not going to repeat myself when I tell you that you're getting it all wrong!" A tall, blue bone appears from the left and moves towards the right while on the bottom of the screen.

Reimu's soul remains still, but she then notices a normal, slightly smaller white bone behind it, approaching just as quickly. Knowing she cannot fly, Reimu attempts to jump instead... A hopeful smile emerges from the success of such an action. Her soul jumped over the bone, making Reimu immediately figure what she has to do. She lets the second blue bone pass through and jumps right afterwards so as to dodge the white one.

However, Reimu's soul had jumped too early and too low, as she hadn't properly thought of the height of the jump for her soul to interpret. Seeing as Reimu cannot control where her soul lands when jumping, it instead hits the bone rather than going over it. The bone yet again takes 4 HP from her; Reimu feels herself getting slightly weaker. It isn't like she is injured: she just feels less strength in her movements, as if tired, or mentally strained. _Wait... These are all aimed for my soul, weakening me; these sort of attacks aren't safe at all,_ Reimu thinks as she successfully gets through the third pair of bones, slightly surprised. _And this weird HP gauge goes down whenever I get hit, meaning that... HP probably isn't the hits I can take without losing the battle, but the hits I can take without dying._

The fourth pair of bones comes from the opposite side, startling Reimu. Since she was deep in thought, she now has no time to react to the white bone, but attempts to jump over anyway. As expected, she takes a hit. _No wonder the way to win isn't to deplete your opponent's HP gauge thing; that'd kill them! But that makes this battle system lethal, so I guess a way to win could really be to kill me..._ Reimu narrows her eyes, grimacing. "Hey, this showdown of ours... It isn't to the death, is it?"

"WHAT? OF COURSE NOT! WHY WOULD I EVER WANT TO KILL YOU, HUMAN?!" The fact that he responds immediately and without hesitation reassures Reimu somewhat, as it means it's unlikely he will trick her. "BESIDES, MY MISSION IS TO CAPTURE YOU!"

 **. . .**

... Papyrus realizes his contradictions. "WHICH I WILL DO AFTER I HELP YOU, OF COURSE! IN FACT, RATHER THAN BECOMING YOUR TUTOR, AN IDEA WHICH YOU SO VEHEMENTLY REJECT FOR SOME REASON, I WILL TEACH YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FIGHTING IN THIS VERY DUEL, AS I AM GREAT ENOUGH TO DO SO IN SUCH A SHORT TIME!" _Is he just making this up as he goes...?_ "SO, IF YOU WIN...! WE CAN BOTH CONCLUDE YOU ARE AS GREAT AS YOU SAY, AND I WILL LET YOU GO! BUT IF YOU LOSE...! YOU WILL HAVE TO ADMIT TO YOUR COOL ACT AND LET ME CAPTURE YOU, HUMAN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

 _Well, even if he's just making this up as he goes, it's still convenient._ "Sure, alright," Reimu says with a convicted smile, "It's on!" For her turn, Reimu shoots out more homing amulets, but includes needles in a position so near the amulets that they are difficult to spot, allowing for a surprise attack of sorts.

The attack manages to take 33 HP from Papyrus, and just like that, Reimu's turn ends. "THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Papyrus excitedly exclaims. "WELL THEN, LESSON NUMBER 1: NEVER USE YOUR STRONGEST ATTACK FIRST! AFTER ALL, THERE IS NO POINT TO A SHOWDOWN IF YOU SHOW ALL YOU'VE GOT AT THE FIRST TURN! IT'LL BE UNFAIR FOR YOUR OPPONENT TOO! INSTEAD, YOU MUST GRADUALLY BUILD UP TOWARDS YOUR STRONGEST ATTACK WITH WEAKER ONES, AND USE IT LAST!" Reimu nods at said lesson, actually agreeing with it, but doesn't do more than that out of wanting to focus on Papyrus's attacks completely.

 _So what's next?_ A row of bones comes from the right, each one taller than the one before it. As Reimu's soul moves towards the left as well, she actually sees that the row continues, each bone after the highest being shorter and shorter... The last one ends up with the same size of the first. The sheer width of this row of bones is intimidating, but Reimu assumes she can jump through it, as Papyrus wouldn't conjure an impossible attack.

Reimu's soul attempts a very high jump, one that covers the width of the row, and succeeds. Reimu smiles triumphantly. "Got it...!" _This may be a different system than I'm used to, but I'm not about to lose to some skeleton!_ Another row of bones appears from the same direction, making Reimu's soul have to move to the opposite side before jumping.

Only after it manages to hop over that row does Papyrus's turn end, and Reimu sustains no damage whatsoever from it. She doesn't waste any time: for her own turn, Reimu has a great many ying-yang orbs materialize and shoot at Papyrus's general direction, accompanied by many red and white projectiles, some round and others sharp like arrows flying through at different speeds. She takes 37 HP from Papyrus; Reimu feels closer to victory.

"LESSON NUMBER 2: WHEN YOUR OPPONENT GETS HIT, YOU MUST GIVE THEM TIME TO RECOVER! IN UNDERGROUND BATTLES, THIS IS WHAT INVINCIBILITY FRAMES ARE FOR! THEY RENDER YOU INVINCIBLE FOR A FEW SECONDS SO YOU DON'T GET ATTACKED CONSECUTIVELY! BATTLES CANNOT BE FAIR IF YOU DON'T USE THEM!" Reimu finds herself nodding in approval again. _That's just like Spellcard Battles,_ she thinks, _It sure would be unfair not to have time to recover from an attack._

Two bones, one at the upper edge of the screen and another just below it at the lower one, enclose the space that the screen originally provides, rendering Reimu's soul only able to jump through a small area in order not to get hit. While Reimu attempts to have it jump at the proper height, her soul goes over it and collides with the upper bone, leaving Reimu with only 7 HP left. _This is really hard to control...!_ Another similar pair of bones passes right through Reimu's soul, but doesn't damage it due to the invincibility frames.

The same is applied to the third pair, but not to the fourth one. Noticing her invincibility frames are gone, Reimu focuses on the oncoming attack and has her soul hop a rather short height to match the safe space it had to go through. However, immediately noticing that would fail and being unable to stop her soul midair, Reimu makes a spellcard materialize. **"Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal!"** The glowing orbs of energy that emerge clear the bones that were about to hit her soul, and then attack Papyrus, much to his surprise.

"WHAT?! H-HUMAN! YOU ARE CHEATING!" Papyrus's turn ends, and he takes 45 damage from the spellcard. Meanwhile, Reimu feels herself slightly numb, but her determination to win the duel makes her dismiss such a sensation. "YOU CANNOT PERFORM ANY ACTIONS DURING YOUR OPPONENT'S TURN! IT SHOULDN'T EVEN BE POSSIBLE!"

Hearing such words, Reimu retorts, "If it's possible, then it's not cheating! I can't do anything else in your turns anyway, only spellcards." From her battle with Toriel, Reimu found herself unable to shoot normal projectiles, while she used a spellcard to clear Flowey's friendliness pellets. With that in mind, it is easy for Reimu to assume only spellcards can be used on her opponent's turn, as much as it seems to surprise them. _It's weird for me too, but maybe it's kind of like bombs?_

In Spellcard Battles, the opponent is allowed to use a spellcard to clear enemy bullets when in danger: the same seems to specifically apply to Reimu in the Underground, as proved by her use of a spellcard to avoid getting hit by Papyrus's attack. _I guess this is a special ability of sorts I have, like how this skeleton can make me unable to fly._ Seeing as it is her turn, Reimu throws 20 needles and shoots five homing amulets every second of her turn, making it so one would have to focus on both the incoming needles and the amulets as they fly at different speeds.

Her attack deals 24 damage to Papyrus, and his turn begins soon afterwards. "A-AHEM! LESSON NUMBER 3: YOU CANNOT PERFORM ANY ACTION IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR OPPONENT'S TURN! SINCE I HAVEN'T TOLD YOU BEFORE, I WILL FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT JUST THIS ONCE! BUT REMEMBER IT NOW, HUMAN! AFTER ALL, IT WOULD BE GREATLY UNFAIR OF YOU TO KEEP ATTACKING YOUR OPPONENT AND CLEARING OUT THEIR OWN ATTACKS WHILE THEIR TURN IS STILL GOING!"

"Hey, if it's my special ability, then it's perfectly fair to use it!" Reimu protests as her soul jumps over a bone, "Besides, it's not like I have unlimited spellcards, so I can't abuse it; it's for emergencies!" This level of concentration comes from her experience in battles, but even then, she finds a need to keep her eyes on the screen and remain silent afterwards. After all, when it comes to jumping, her soul is surprisingly difficult to control: it moves fast, but jumps somewhat slowly. Reimu is not used to having to jump over attacks either, so such an action isn't processed well enough for her soul to do it exactly how she'd want it.

Whatever the case, this attack from Papyrus seems to only consist of bones sliding from the left to the right on the bottom edge of the screen, meaning that Reimu has to simply get the timing right to succeed in sustaining no damage. Despite that, the bones used for this particular attack are very tall, so it requires very high jumps. After one such jump, Reimu's soul lands just before another tall bone, which hits it immediately; Reimu feels herself heavier. _3 HP..._ "Damn it!" Even with the familiar battle system of Gensokyo, Reimu doesn't always win on her first try: sometimes, she has to ask for rematches, which youkai generally accept. Reimu exhales, wanting to ignore the headache she is feeling.

Convicted, Reimu has her soul hop over the rest of the bones successfully, and materializes a spellcard for her next turn. While Reimu has asked for rematches before, she definitely doesn't feel up for such an action now. **"Dream Sign: Duplex Barrier!"** Barriers are, in and of themselves, borders. It is through a a gap in the borders of reality that Reimu can create what is called a duplex barrier, and seemingly distort space for this spellcard.

In other words, the rows of amulets she is presently shooting out, when passing through the barrier she has created in the area, fly in the opposite direction, only to then head for Papyrus when crossing the second one. While intimidating, the fact that the amulets end up flying towards where they are originally set to go still stands, so the trick to bypass such a spellcard is to simply know this fact... which Papyrus doesn't.

As her turn ends, Reimu dispels the barrier she created and notes that the spellcard took 63 HP from Papyrus. She isn't sure if she is as close to winning as Papyrus is, but she tries not to let that get to her. If anything, Reimu is more unsure of what'll happen next. What if she gets hit...? Papyrus's attacks seem to deal 4 damage, and she only has 3 HP left.

"WELL, HUMAN, I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND WARN YOU THAT IN A FEW TURNS, I WILL USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK! IT'LL SURELY GIVE YOU QUITE THE HARD TIME! I'D ADMIT DEFEAT IF I WERE YOU!" Reimu isn't sure of whether to take that as a sign of how she has made progress in taking down Papyrus, so she doesn't even focus on said words too much; she has an attack to dodge.

Reimu's soul successfully hops over a row of three bones coming from the left, and then the other one coming from the right. Afterwards, a single bone of moderate height slides from the left. Finding that a simple enough obstacle, Reimu has her soul jump over it immediately... At that moment, a bone from the upper edge of the screen slides over at a much faster speed; Reimu's soul had jumped too soon. "No...!" Reimu's eyes widen in shock. Then, she grimaces as her legs falter, rendering her on her knees. If not for her leg warmers, Reimu would've felt the coldness of the snow directly on her, though that wouldn't have changed her situation in the slightest.

It was probably an effect of her drowsiness that Reimu didn't think through such a simple pattern, or the fact that Papyrus's patterns aren't that hard to begin with. Either that, or the fact that she is feeling somewhat unwell from mental attacks, so it's admittedly hard to focus.

However, now that her HP has been reduced to 1, a result of Papyrus controlling the strength of his attacks, Reimu's finds herself fatigued. "Damn... it...!" _No way... I shouldn't lose! I can't lose! I'm better than that, I shouldn't have lost!_

"AH-HAH! AS EXPECTED, YOU ARE FAR TOO WEAK IN COMPARISON TO ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NOW THAT YOU HAVE LOST OUR SHOWDOWN, I CAN SEND YOU TO THE CAPTURE ZONE WITHOUT REGRET! AND CALL YOU A 'TSUNDEERE' ALL I WANT TOO! BUT ONE THING AT A TIME!" Reimu sees the screens fading away; she scowls. _Just because I couldn't jump over a few bones..._ Papyrus approaches Reimu as she processes that the fight is over... and that she has lost. "FOR NOW... YOU'RE IN THE DOGHOUSE, HUMAN! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

It's over now; there is no reason to move. As much as Reimu wants to duel Papyrus further, it would be pointless to do so now that she is so tired. Reimu collapses, and twitches slightly from the sudden cold feeling of lying on top of snow. _This isn't gonna end here..._ Reimu thinks as she feels herself being lifted up, presumably by Papyrus. _I'll make sure of it!_

 _You'll see..._ Soon, soon enough... Reimu will rise again, like she always does.

It's such a time that Reimu looked forward to before losing her consciousness completely.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

This chapter's a long one, seriously... I'm still not sure if I should end it on such a note, but at the same time, I feel like it'd drag the chapter down if I included anything else (since it's already so stuffed with content). Either way, I had fun! Reimu interacts way too much with Sans, but it's literally because he always sticks around and not because I'm purposefully making it happen. Even then, Reimu and Sans really get along somehow, it's kind of strange ^^'

The NPCs I skipped in Snowdin were skipped due to the fact that Reimu isn't just going to talk to everyone: she only goes up to the things she's curious about or finds suspicious. So, unfortunately, I didn't have her talk to the Monster kid or those two NPCs next to Grillby's with the neat designs. Oh, and Grillby's. It was pretty sad that Reimu didn't enter Grillby's. As for enemies, I didn't want them to repeat themselves and Gyfrot is only found at that place where Sans is teleporting about so I couldn't have her fight them, much to my dismay. After all, if I made her go through that path, she would find that mysterious door and try to kick it open or something; it'd be a waste of time.

While this chapter was fun, it was simultaneously nerve-wracking because I had to do so many descriptions, and I'm always afraid those will turn out incoherent. For example, action scenes: they make me uneasy because I don't think my writing skills are awesome enough to pull them off. Regardless, this story requires me to write them so yeah, there you go, I wrote Reimu battling Papyrus... and losing. Are you surprised? Because this was my plan from the very beginnning. I mean, come on, admit it, Papyrus is not an easy boss. He isn't. And Reimu? She's used to her own battle system, Gensokyo's rules. Not platforming with her soul. She's still not used to this battle system in general.

I mean, Touhou 7.5 and 10.5 (and 12.3) might make you go like, "Yo, land battles are a thing!" But at the end of the day, the girls of Gensokyo can canonically dodge by flying, and Reimu really likes doing such stuff. Besides, jumping normally isn't the same as commanding your soul to do so, and the soul is somewhat slippery and slow at the same time, so I don't imagine Reimu just getting used to how battles work in the Underground fast enough to win against Papyrus in Blue Mode. With that in mind, she lost. Honestly, I think she did pretty well for her first time: I got rekt by Papyrus on mine XD

Anyway, I at first had no idea of what to make Papyrus say in his battle since I wasn't about to copy-paste his canon dialogue without proper context, but then I had the brilliant idea of making dem jabs at Sans's battle like none other because _screw you_ Sans, you're a dirty cheater! In the same way that I'm a dirty brother killer (killing Papyrus made me question my life choices ;_;)... But basically, Sans doesn't fight fair, and Papyrus wanted to teach Reimu how to fight fair, so it kind of totally definitely had to happen. Really.

I honestly have the headcanon of monster's attacks affecting the soul and therefore mentally weakening you, and that Frisk was just so determined that they'd get through it regardless (Reimu's determined too so it took her a while to succumb to those effects). You know, you should trust me when I tell you that all the things I include or remove have a purpose because I've got the ending and the important parts all planned out: I removed basic menu choices for a reason, I removed the ability to SAVE for a reason, I made the battle system and screens be a thing for a reason, I have Reimu's soul be separated from her body and be in a proper screen for a reason... It's all got a purpose. Though I definitely understand if it's not satisfactory for you ^^'

As for the many scenes with Marisa you'll see, you technically don't need them: we could go through the story just fine with them just not being shown to you. Even then, would that truly be interesting? To be honest, these scenes make everything much easier for both you and me, since they're great to make timeskips flow better. This time, Marisa saw Shinmyoumaru, and that scene indicates the timeline this is set in: this story happens a short time after the incident of Touhou 14, for reasons I won't disclose to you. Beyond that, well, who knows what Marisa will do to search for Reimu...? We'll just have to find that out eventually!

Seriously though, Reimu and Sans interacting is pretty amusing... It's great that I got to put the whoopee cushion thing somewhere before the start of Waterfall, since I was totally afraid I wouldn't be able to fit it in. Also, yes, Papyrus is totally getting 'Tsundere' wrong XD But close enough! Reimu's got the anime appeal going for her, so it sort of makes sense that I bring up Undertale's thing for anime with her involved. Aaaah, I'm still so nervous about my descriptions and at how entertaining the battle is... Um! You know, it's been really cool differing from canon and writing how Reimu reacts to everything, but it's also a bit unnerving since barely following the canon dialogue basically means you have to muster all you know about a character and make sure nothing is OOC. I mean, even in dialogue that you think I took from canon I just wrote from memory, so I'm going as far as being too lazy to re-check the game and make it all the same.

Whatever the case, look forward to the final parts of Snowdin and a chunk of Waterfall? Because I'm pretty sure that's what you'll see from the next chapter!

 **Best deleted sentence of the Chapter:** "I guess that makes _Sans_."

Badum-tss! XD Since Reimu is better than that, I didn't make this be a thing. Even then, you can definitely say these puns have been quite... _Sans_ ational!

... What? Got a _bone_ to pick with me? You must have practically no _Sans_ of humor... Eh? Eh? I'll just stop.


	5. Chapter 5

**First Words:**

* * *

 **Cool Guest - Wait, people skip** _ **Photoshop Flowey**_ **in their fanfictions?! But that's literally the best fight in the game (in my opinion)! How can they even bear doing something like that...? Besides, how do they even skip a battle as important as Flowey's? As you can tell, I don't read that many Undertale fanfictions that would even involve getting to that fight, but I sure hope there aren't truly** _ **that**_ **many skipping a fight as godly (ha ^^') as Flowey's. When it comes to this story, however, I'll just not say anything ^^' Thank you for reviewing!**

 **b-wolf95 - Thank you! ^^ This is set only a little while after Double Dealing Character for other, not-that-plot-important reasons (if you consider what's going on right now), actually. Besides, while Urban Legend in Limbo is Touhou 14.5, it serves more as a prologue to Touhou 15 than something directly after Double Dealing Character, as it's from the development of that game that Touhou 15 happens: this means Touhou 14.5 is set right before Touhou 15 rather than Touhou 14. So there's still nothing urban legend-related going on in Gensokyo. However, maybe you can draw your conclusions about Yukari's whereabout with this Chapter ^^ After all, you bring up a good point: what about Yukari? What about Yukari indeed... Thank you for reviewing, yet again!**

 **rad dudesman - Wait, what? XD I had to re-read the chapter to see where you got that idea from; it was that weird to me. Anyway, Marisa was just teasing Shinmyoumaru! ^^' In general, people reading this story shouldn't expect much of Chara beyond them being mentioned, since we're not even going down the Genocide Route here. Whatever the case, thank you for reviewing!**

 **Anonymous - I'M SO FILLED WITH DETERMINATION RIGHT NOW I DON'T EVEN— I'll try my best! I want to finish this, too!**

 **Guest - Thank you! ^^ Well, let's see if your expectations are met in this Chapter: after all, Reimu's gonna be in Waterfall here. It's awesome seeing people thinking of the possibilities like this, especially since the point of this story is to have Reimu going through this adventure and what would change from it. Anyway, thank you for reviewing!**

 **Guest (2) - Omg thank youuu! You seem like you know a lot about Touhou so it's great hearing from you that I'm portraying Reimu well enough! In a way, I'm kind of afraid of not meeting your expectations now, especially when you have such cool possibilities ;_; It's said in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense that she tends to ask for rematches when she loses (implying that there are times when she does lose), so I think she can be defeated in stuff like Phantasmagoria of Flower View and basically all the fighting games because... she can. Not that she isn't really strong or anything like that, it's just that she probably has times where she's bested. She always manages to solve everything in the end though =3 Whatever the case, thank you for reviewing!**

 **Guest (3) - Thank you! As for the SAVE function, well, there is none in this story. I'm pretty sure Flowey hinted at that too, so yeah: no one can save. I mean, it's not like this is a game, am I right? ;D Chara's involvement will also not be that high, as I said in a previous review response. I personally don't think there would be much point to Chara in this story. Anyway, thank you for reviewing! Hopefully this chapter will live up to your expectations!**

 **Guest (4) (omg how could I have done this to you I deserve no forgiveness) - I literally only noticed I hadn't given any response to this review over at 2017, and now that I have, I feel absolutely awful. It most certainly wasn't on purpose, and I most certainly wouldn't want to ignore a guest review! I love responding to guest reviews. With that in mind, I truly apologize. I mean, I could've just left it alone and moved on, but I felt as though it wouldn't be fair, even if you may not even be reading this right now. Regardless, I'm really sorry. I will see to it this never happens again. As for the question, which was actually a very good question, LOVE is but a value from the Underground itself. Basically, no matter how much of a serial killer you were on the surface, you'd always start with LV 1, as LOVE is something you have only in the Underground. At least, that's how I interpreted it. If this LOVE thing were aware of what Reimu did on the surface, she surely wouldn't have started with LV 1, that's for sure. Whatever the case, thank you very much for reviewing. You, just as any other, deserve this gratitude.**

 **POnp00ts - YES, MORE REIMU! REIMU ALL THE WAY! 8D She's the main character, so there's no way we won't have more Reimu. Though I guess you might see longer scenes with Marisa... But REIMU ALL THE WAY! Let's hope you'll enjoy this chapter too!**

Omg so many guest reviews 8D It was a ton of fun responding to these, and it's still pretty awesome that this story even got that many! Hopefully no one will be too bothered with a long First Words section from all these responses: it's kind of inevitable. Besides, the chapter's way longer, so you won't feel that ripped off (it's about 11000-12000 words long). Anyway, since the last chapter, this story got 21 favorites and 25 followers (I still get blown away by these numbers 0.0)! Thank you very much! Hopefully you'll like this chapter, and the next to come! ^^

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 5: For Our People's Hopes and Dreams**

* * *

"Ugh..." Reimu twitches as she feels the cold, hard, wooden floor beneath her. She slowly opens her eyes, feeling slightly groggy. "Where...?" The ceiling she is faced with tells nothing of her location; Reimu immediately stands up. Though she falters slightly at first, Reimu assumes a defensive stance as she looks around. _How did I even get here?_

The first things that Reimu sees are a grid-like structure placed to outline the area she is in (or so Reimu assumes), a toy bone and a very small bed (not for humans, she notes). "What the...?" _I don't get it. What am I doing here?_ Reimu turns around, and finds a bowl of dry food. _There's no way I'd ever eat that._ Next to the bowl is a note, Reimu finally notices. With a rather curious expression, Reimu picks it up and starts reading:

'HUMAN!'

She stops. "Wait, now I remember!" Reimu's eyebrows furrow; her hands grip the note tighter. "That skeleton won against me!" _And because of that, he got to capture and put me over here, wherever this place is..._ Reimu drops the note with a serious look on her face. "No way he's gonna get away without at least one rematch!"

Determined, Reimu dashes through the grid-like structure, and exits the strange location Papyrus put her in. She takes in her surroundings: they are now definitely familiar to her. In fact, next to the small building she got out of is Papyrus and Sans's house, meaning that she had been put in that strange little house that seemed to be locked before. Reimu looks back at the door she came from blankly. _Why didn't he lock me in if he wanted to capture me...?_

 _Whatever, at least I'm free._ Reimu starts walking towards Papyrus and Sans's house. _So I'm getting that rematch!_ When she reaches their door, Reimu proceeds to kick it open; thankfully, it happens to be unlocked. Reimu allows herself in, only to find that there is no one inside. Just in case, Reimu floats up to the first floor and lands on the hallway. She heads for Sans's room, and as expected, it's locked. _I guess Papyrus wouldn't be here even if it was unlocked._

With that in mind, Reimu sets her sights on the room to the left, the one she hasn't paid attention to yet. She moves towards it and successfully opens its door, only to find no one inside. However, seeing as the room is quite odd in her perspective, Reimu slowly enters to look around, curious. _Whose room is this? If the one in the right is Sans's, wouldn't this be..._ "Papyrus's?" Reimu looks to the left to find a bed shaped in the form of some sort of strange, carriage-like apparatus; she stares at the strange design for a while...

 **. . .**

 _... Papyrus is really weird. Which doesn't surprise me._ All around her, she finds strange objects. Dolls of robots in strange positions, a black flag with a skeleton on it, and a white box with a screen attached to it attract her attention the most, especially because she has no idea of what they are even doing in Papyrus's room in the first place. Next to Papyrus's bookshelf, Reimu sees a door. She walks over to it, expecting other strange objects inside.

However, when she does open said door, she only finds clothes. "Oh, that was a closet," Reimu mutters, slightly disappointed, "Well, Papyrus isn't around, so I'm out of here." Not feeling up to wasting time, Reimu flies out of Papyrus's room and out of his house in general, though she actually has enough consideration to close the front door behind her.

Landing on the cold, snowy ground of Snowdin, Reimu faces the path she had to walk through to get to Papyrus: he waited for her there before. _Maybe he's there again for some reason?_ Reimu shrugs in a carefree manner, figuring she has to at least check even if the odds are low. Where else could Papyrus be? She has no other leads.

Since Reimu knows the path eventually renders her barely able to see anything in front of her, she opts for walking the whole way through rather than flying so as to avoid accidents like bumping into something. As she does so, Reimu can't help but reflect on her humiliating loss against Papyrus. _He seems easy enough at first sight... But his attacks need perfect timing: without timing, I can't jump through through any bones. Not only that, but my soul jumps differently from myself and has a different speed moving around; I have to take that into account too. If this battle system let me jump around instead of my soul thing, this would actually be a lot easier..._

In general, Reimu's problem is that she is not yet used to Papyrus's attacks, as with all gimmicks she has had to encounter: usually, youkai with fairly odd abilities would take more than one try to beat. Papyrus is no different in Reimu's case not because his abilities are very unusual, but because the battle system is very unusual and Reimu has yet to truly grasp it. With narrowed eyes, Reimu faintly sees a tall shadow in the distance. "Hey!"

Knowing who it is, Reimu attempts to get his attention. "HUMAN?!" To further confirm her assumptions, Reimu even recognizes that voice as Papyrus's. It seems she was right when thinking Papyrus is in such a location.

Reimu runs towards Papyrus and then, when she considers herself to be in a proper position, Reimu points her Purification Rod at Papyrus with a glare. "I've got a bone to pick with you!"

"heh, good one!" Hearing Sans in the distance is the last thing Reimu had ever thought would happen, and it completely destroyed the mood as well. Both Reimu and Papyrus are looking towards Sans with troubled expressions, though Reimu feels slightly prideful.

 _Of course that was good,_ Reimu thinks as she smiles mischievously. _It actually fits the mood, after all._ When it comes to snark/humor, one must assess the mood: telling puns making fun of a certain shrine maiden's situation, for example, would be quite the terrible idea and warrant a beating from her. "SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! YOU INTERRUPTED THE CONVERSATION!"

Sans shrugs. "sorry, bro. it was just so humerus, i couldn't help it."

 **Badum-tss!**

"UGH, SANS! STOP DELAYING THE DRAMATIC MOMENT WITH YOUR PUNS!"

With a hand resting on her hip, Reimu narrows her eyes at Sans impatiently. "What are you even doing here, anyway?" She came over for a rematch, so she isn't too pleased with Sans's unwarranted presence. Why would he have to spy on them? _Either that, or he likes stalking people._

"watchin' you, of course. i was here last time too." _What? I didn't even notice him,_ Reimu thinks, slightly surprised. Usually, Reimu is able to pick up on others hiding from her, more out of intuition than anything. _He was hiding in the forest too when I came out... He's an awfully sneaky skeleton. He also likes stalking people, apparently._ "i mean. c'mon. why wouldn't i wanna see the fight between my brother and a weird human shrine maiden?" While one would think Reimu would want to complain due to being called weird, even she is aware of the fact that she is somewhat of a quirky fellow (and doesn't care if it doesn't involve the human villagers losing their trust in her).

In other words, to her, Sans made a fair point. _I guess it'd really be an interesting fight. Fights are sort of fun to watch,_ she thinks, reminiscing similar situations. "by the way, buddy?" Since he is undoubtedly referring to Reimu, she snaps out of her thoughts and focuses on him. Sans winks. "you got owned. as in, really owned. wasn't expecting that."

"Sh-shut up," Reimu says, both angry and embarrassed at the same time (though mostly angry). She never likes it when her losses are referenced, especially when she has yet to have a rematch.

"ok," Sans casually responds, inwardly amused at the response but not enough to rile Reimu up any further (especially since it would most likely make her use violence). Then, in the literal blink of an eye, Sans disappears without a trace. Reimu flinches from how sudden it was, but when she processes that it was just Sans doing more of his abilities, she simply stares at the spot he was at blankly. _Is he gone or just hidden somewhere?_

 _Eh, who cares?_ Reimu turns to Papyrus. "FINALLY!" Papyrus exclaims, slightly annoyed. However, he becomes as excitable as normal afterwards. "WITH SANS GONE, I CAN GO NOW ON TO ASKING WHY YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR DESIGNATED CAPTURE ZONE! SO... WHY ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DESIGNATED CAPTURE ZONE, HUMAN?!"

"The better question is why I would ever want to stay there in the first place," Reimu replies with a frown on her face, "You think I'd just stand still and wait in your weird shed? I've got more important stuff to do, so we're having a rematch and get this all over with!" Reimu brandishes her Purification Rod at Papyrus threateningly, as if to transmit that she means business now.

"A REMATCH?!" Papyrus questions, surprised at Reimu's words. "BUT HUMAN, WE HAD A DEAL! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO LET YOURSELF BE CAPTURED AFTER YOU LOSE!"

Reimu gives him a devious smile. "Well, I did let myself get captured after I lost, didn't I? You never said I couldn't escape or ask for a rematch," Reimu points out, "You should really watch out for loopholes when making deals. Who knows when someone will take advantage of them?" Various youkai have a similar attitude, so Reimu has gotten used to that in her lifetime.

It always feels satisfying for Reimu to beat youkai at their own thing. "YOU... YOU HAVE BETRAYED ME, HUMAN!" He actually seems hurt, which surprises Reimu slightly. "HOW COULD YOU?! I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!" He glances to the side. "WELL, WE WEREN'T FRIENDS _YET,_ BUT... WE HAD A CONNECTION, HUMAN! YOU CAN'T DENY THAT!" Papyrus then points at her legs. "I EVEN LENT YOU THOSE LEG WARMERS! I WAS GOING TO TEACH YOU THE PROPER WAYS OF FIGHTING! AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?! I DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD STOOP SO LOW, HUMAN... I AM DISAPPOINTED IN YOU."

"You were going to capture me! And it's not like I betrayed you or anything," Reimu argues, "I kept my end of the bargain! And now I want a rematch. If you really know about 'proper' fighting, then you should also know it's disrespectful not to accept rematches." Reimu crosses her arms, seemingly displeased at the situation. _What's his deal anyway? Does he just expect me to go along with him and get captured? I'm not going down without a fight!_

... Papyrus gasps. "HUMAN...!" _What's it gonna be this time?_ Reimu is already expecting some sort of nonsensical reaction from Papyrus. The fact that she has gotten to know Papyrus this well is fairly disturbing to Reimu: while she gets to know all youkai she beats up, it's only for a few minutes before moving on; it's the only time she interacts with them (in incidents). Meanwhile, Reimu has had to trudge through Papyrus's antics for quite some time, and while she does not dislike him by any means, she does find it greatly odd that she is hanging around the same monsters for this amount of time.

Papyrus gives Reimu a somehow cutesy, innocent look of pure admiration, and seems to be blushing (yet again, _somehow;_ Reimu doesn't question it). "SO YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO BETRAY ME AFTER ALL! YOU JUST WANTED TO SHOW ME WHAT ELSE YOU'VE LEARNED OF PROPER DUELS! TO THINK I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WAS DOUBTING YOU OF ALL PEOPLE, HUMAN...! IT LOOKS LIKE I MADE QUITE THE OVERSIGHT!" Papyrus is now brimming with confidence, as always. _He sure cheers up quick; how simple-minded._ "AN OVERSIGHT THAT WAS COMPLETELY PLANNED BEFOREHAND! YOU SEE, I WAS ONLY TESTING YOU! AS YOU SAY, IT WOULD BE DISRESPECTFUL OF ME TO REFUSE A REMATCH! VERY WELL DONE, HUMAN!"

"So you're accepting the rematch, right?" Reimu asks, expectant of a positive answer. While Papyrus acted as strange as she imagined, it had at least been in her favor. In general, Papyrus seems like the kind of skeleton that is remarkably easy to manipulate: it's sort of pitiful, in Reimu's opinion. Fortunately for Papyrus, Reimu is not one for manipulation; she is too easygoing for that.

"OF COURSE!" Papyrus excitedly responds. "PREPARE YOURSELF, HUMAN! I WILL NOT GO EASY ON YOU!"

Reimu smiles. "I wouldn't want any more than that out of you. Now, whoever runs out of attacks or gets close to killing the opponent wins, right?" She hadn't gotten a chance to go over the conditions for winning the previous duel, but now she had to make sure she would do so with this one so as to not have anything unexpected happen.

"EXACTLY! IT SEEMS LIKE YOU TRULY ARE LEARNING FROM ME!" Reimu doesn't bother to deny Papyrus's claim and simply assumes a fighting stance. "NOW, LET THE DUEL BEGIN!"

 **'*Papyrus accepted your rematch.'**

... And so it commences once more. This time, Reimu feels prepared. Without hesitation, Reimu calls on two ying-yang orbs, not wanting to go overboard on her first attack. "You're going down this time!" Ten, twenty, thirty... Numerous amulets are thrown sequentially with other projectiles following after them.

"WE'LL JUST HAVE TO SEE ABOUT THAT, HUMAN! AFTER ALL, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT ME! BUT YOU'RE WELCOME TO FAIL TRYING AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE!" he confidently counters, though he is currently being hit by Reimu's relentless amulet assault. "NYEH HEH HEH HEH! LET THAT SERVE AS ANOTHER LESSON FROM ME!" Reimu's turn passes, and Papyrus takes 46 damage. Reimu simply stands there quietly, paying no mind to Papyrus's words.

She sees the blue attacks going right through her soul with narrowed eyes. When it changes color and drops to the bottom of the screen, Reimu tenses. Her soul swiftly jumps over the incoming bone. Afterwards, she sighs in relief. _There you go. I overjumped a bit, but I at least dodged it._

Reimu shfits her attention to Papyrus, looking rather determined. _It's on, you weird skeleton,_ she thinks, _I'll get you this time!_

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

While Marisa told Shinmyoumaru she would find Reimu for sure... As she oversees Gensokyo from the sky, Marisa wonders where to even start. _So, when Shinmyoumaru last saw Reimu, she told her she was going to solve the incident,_ Marisa thinks, _But she's not at the mountain, so... where is she? Is there any other incident happening beyond this one? There's no way Reimu would skip out on it. Something must've happened along the way._ Marisa faces the mountain, which can be seen in the horizon.

A whole new mountain, transported into Gensokyo. Marisa is aware of the fact that Gensokyo is home to what has been forgotten, but who can forget an entire mountain? Perhaps, like the shrine, it has its own Outside World version. However, that is besides the main point of finding Reimu. For now, Marisa reasons, the most she can do is follow the path Reimu would've taken to reach the mountain so as to search for any signs of her.

"Marisa?" Before she could set off, however, Marisa hears a familiar voice, and steers her broom towards its general direction. "What a coincidence. Is there any reason for you to be merely floating in place? You look troubled." Youmu is hovering close by with a slightly confused expression on her face, clearly showing how much she has no idea of Marisa's whereabouts (but not caring enough to stress on them too much).

She must have confronted Marisa for that very reason. Her ghost half circles her at a fairly relaxed pace, as if Youmu herself is also not in that much of a hurry. "Oh, hey, Youmu," Marisa greets in a friendly manner, reminding herself of previous encounters with Youmu... which mostly involved duels, but since they were all fun and game to Marisa, they are fairly pleasant memories. "I guess I really am troubled. I've got an incident on my hands, but I don't know where to start." Marisa shows herself slightly troubled as she continues considering her own problems.

"An incident?" Youmu would have been concerned about Marisa's words, seeing as they would imply consequences for the entirety of Gensokyo rather than just Marisa, but she is instead confused as she thinks about any references to new incidents. However, she then connects the dots by glancing at the mountain, which could be seen from afar. "You mean the one about the mountain? Sanae solved that one. I came to the mountain and checked," Youmu affirms; she hadn't thought Marisa would be unaware of this information.

"Wait, you checked on that?" Marisa questions, slightly surprised herself. "You'd think the Netherworld wouldn't have any business with this sort of incident." Youmu only comes to take care of an incident if it involves the Netherworld or her mistress' whims, and the appearance of a mountain has nothing to do with either of them.

Marisa is admittedly curious about Youmu's motivations. "You see, Lady Yuyuko got word of this incident from Lady Yukari's shikigami," Youmu explains, "I didn't listen to their conversation, but afterwards, I was sent out to report the status of the incident and take care of it if necessary. As you now know, it was already solved when I got there. It looks like the report is the only thing I'll have to do."

Marisa's eyes widen in surprise at the new information she has gotten from Youmu. _Yukari sent Youmu to solve the incident?_ Marisa grimaces as she ponders on this. _That's weird... Wait!_ "By shikigami, you mean Ran, right? What about her master?" The more she thinks about it, the more Marisa realizes how convenient it would be to call on Yukari's aid when it came to searching for Reimu. Marisa personally isn't fond of dealing with Yukari, but her boundary manipulation powers make her the best person to locate and retrieve Reimu as fast as possible. Marisa doesn't know where Yukari resides, but if she is supposedly active enough to spur Youmu into acting upon this incident, Youmu may just have an idea of her current location, or so Marisa hopefully assumes.

Youmu glances to the side. "I reckon she's most likely sleeping. I don't work for her, so I only know what Lady Yuyuko tells me."

Immediately, the tension pent up from the prospect of getting an answer from Youmu leaves Marisa as she frowns disappointingly. "Well, what about Ran?" _If I find Ran, I might be able to call Yukari,_ Marisa thinks. Beyond Yukari herself, Ran is the only other being who knows the location of Yukari's residence. This is only natural, as Ran works under Yukari: while her master sleeps, Ran does her work in Gensokyo for her. She had even been sent to go to the Netherworld in Yukari's stead; now _she_ may just be within Marisa's grasp. If Youmu happens to have a clue about Ran's location, Marisa can get to her and have her call Yukari, which can right away solve this current incident.

However, if Youmu happens _not_ to know of Ran's whereabouts, there will be no hope for Marisa when it comes to attaining Yukari's help: Marisa can't simply search all over Gensokyo for Ran, and even if she can, she might as well do that for Reimu, who truly needs to be found. Marisa stares at Youmu in an exceedingly expectant manner, which warrants an awkward frown from Youmu. "I wouldn't know of her whereabouts; she left the Netherworld immediately after speaking to Lady Yuyuko," Youmu bluntly answers with a thoughtful expression, as if reminiscing. In her perspective, it's best to simply let out the truth.

Marisa sighs before shrugging in a slightly dejected, though casual fashion. "Figures." _I guess it wouldn't be a proper incident if I could solve it that easily._

While those thoughts are true enough in Marisa's mind, it is also true that Marisa still has no leads to Reimu's location. "Why would you have any business with her if the incident is already solved? Is there anything else amiss with the mountain? Tell me all you know about that; I'm on an errand here."

"It's not the mountain that's amiss," Marisa states, "It's Reimu."

Youmu looks even more confused than before from those words. "Reimu? What's wrong with her?"

"She's missing." Youmu's eyes widen slightly. Her ghost half halts its movement.

"Missing... you say?" She narrows her eyes. "That can't be true. She must be up and about somewhere."

"Reimu was last seen at the shrine, and she said she was going to solve the incident," Marisa states, "But she didn't step foot on that mountain at all. Unless something happened to her, I can't imagine her just leaving an incident aside like this. I just checked the shrine too, and she wasn't there."

Youmu remains silent for a moment, somewhat thoughtful. "That _is_ strange," she finally remarks, "I wouldn't imagine someone like her abandoning her duties. She's the Hakurei shrine maiden, so isn't this a bad situation? Since she's in charge of the barrier and such. I don't think anyone would benefit from truly harming Reimu."

"Well, she's only missing. Maybe no one attacked her at all," Marisa casually offers, "and she got into some sort of accident. Either way, it's still pretty bad that no one knows where she is, and someone's gotta look for her."

"So basically, you've encharged yourself with this incident." Marisa smiles deviously in response to Youmu's statement. "If it helps, I'll add this information to my report," Youmu says, "Lady Yuyuko will know of this, at least."

Marisa chuckles. "Unless Reimu's actually dead, I doubt she'd know where she is."

"Lady Yuyuko might just be your best bet when it comes to contacting Lady Yukari," Youmu counters, "And if she does figure out Reimu's location, I'll tell you. Or bring her to you, depending on what's more efficient." Youmu is aware that Marisa was joking, but doesn't particularly care for jokes.

In general, it bothers her that Reimu of all people would be missing. Such an occurrence is like a bad omen, and Reimu is a fairly strong individual: it would take a lot to bring her down. "Hey, I don't want you taking credit for the incident," Marisa says with a casual smile, not truly serious with such words. "But sure, tell that to Yuyuko. The more people know about this, the easier things will get for me. By the way, got any suggestions for where to start looking?"

"Not really," Youmu bluntly responds, "For now, maybe you should ask around. I'm sure someone like you would know a lot of people to ask. One of them might even have the ability to search for Reimu." Youmu looks upwards. "Now, if you'd excuse me." With that, she flies off, presumably heading for the Netherworld.

Marisa watches her go for a while before deciding to contemplate on her situation. _I've still got no leads after that, but it'd be weirder if Youmu did know something about Reimu's location. Guess I should follow her advice and ask around; I've got nothin' better to do anyway._

 _With that said, who should I go ask...?_ Marisa looks over her surroundings, as if that would give her any ideas. She smiles. _Someone with the ability to find Reimu, huh..._

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Meanwhile, Reimu finds herself having to deal with a fairly annoying headache as she focuses on the rows of bones she has to jump through. Without realizing it, she is floating in place with a serious expression on her face, watching as her soul successfully hops through the tiny gap provided by four bones: two below, and two above, sliding together.

So far, Reimu has managed to still have 7 HP after many turns, and she isn't the only one who is tired. Papyrus, though he is trying his absolute best to hide it, seems to be fatigued as well, if not more so than Reimu. After all, Reimu has dealt a lot of damage to Papyrus already. Now, it is Reimu's turn.

She has already used two spellcards in a row, so it wouldn't be fair to use another. Besides, Reimu can only tell she is close to winning from the fact that Papyrus seems as tired as her, and doesn't truly know how many attacks she has to use to defeat him. A great number of ying-yang orbs materialize and are shot forward. With them come an even bigger amount of amulets in horizintal rows, though these aren't as painful as the ying-yang orbs flying in random directions.

This simple attack takes 47 HP from Papyrus. "WELL, HUMAN...! YOU ARE MORE FORMIDABLE THAN YOU LET ON!" Papyrus exclaims, still attempting to hide his fatigue. Reimu already knows he's just as worn out as her (if not more so), so she finds that more pitiful than anything. "HOWEVER...! IT'S TIME FOR MY SPECIAL ATTACK! THERE IS NO WAY YOU WILL GET THROUGH IT, SO PREPARE YOURSELF FOR ANOTHER EMBARASSING LOSS AGAINST THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Reimu narrows her eyes. Papyrus's special attack... Reimu can only imagine it involves even more bones than normal, which is slightly disturbing. Papyrus is a surprisingly tough opponent, so Reimu does not allow herself to let her guard down. The screen appears, along with Reimu's soul, limited to moving on its lower edge. The bones usually come from the right, so that is the direction she is most focused on.

... However, she sees nothing coming for her. Then, the size of the screen stretches to the side, revealing a somehow familiar white dog munching on what Reimu can only assume to be Papyrus's special attack. _Isn't this the dog on a rope from that 'gauntlet of terror' Papyrus didn't use?_ Reimu snickers.

 _I guess this is what makes it so threatening for Papyrus._ "WHAT THE HECK?! THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK! HEY, YOU STUPID DOG!" The dog looks up at Papyrus, seemingly surprised. "STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!" Despite that reaction from the dog, it proceeds to simply hop off the screen with the bone and run away. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

Reimu turns around so as to watch the dog leave, but suddenly, a screen appears right in front of her eyes, covering her line of sight completely. "What the...?!"

 **'*And the trail of the text-providing dog remains unknown.'**

Reimu attempts to swat the screen away, but her hand only phases through it. It stays precisely at her eye-level, obstructing her view to where the dog has gone. Fairly angry at this, Reimu floats up so as to look over the screen, only for the screen to position itself upwards as well, still blocking Reimu's line of sight. "Ugh!" Reimu lands. _This stupid thing...!_

Figuring there really is no way around it, Reimu decides to turn around for the time being. Papyrus seems to be as troubled as Reimu, but for a different reason. "So..." Reimu utters, "What are you going to do now that you don't have that special attack of yours?"

"WELL! I..." Papyrus pauses not for a dramatic effect, but because he is considering his options. "WILL MAKE DO WITH A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK!" Despite those words, Papyrus's turn ends.

 **'*Papyrus is getting ready for a regular attack.'**

That screen reminds her of the one that was blocking her sight before, making Reimu frown. She glances behind her, and catches no glimpse of such a screen. This doesn't improve Reimu's mood, as she has already concluded the screen was put up to hide where the dog headed towards. _How can a dog even put up these weird screens anyway?_

 _I guess I'll never know..._ A spellcard emerges. **"Spirit Sign: Hakurei Illusion!"** Circles of red amulets surround Reimu for a single moment before they fly outwards at fast speeds. Then, dozens of grey amulets are thrown by Reimu, but these home in on Papyrus rather than spreading out. Red and white projectiles accompany these homing shots, though those cannot follow the target. In addition, various ying-yang orbs are shot about to further complicate the pattern Reimu has called forth.

... The shocked look in Papyrus's skull as 67 HP is taken from him immediately lets Reimu know of her victory. He even flinches, having completely let his guard down before. As if to confirm that, Papyrus's turn doesn't even come. Reimu smiles; as always, her intuition is corrrect. Confident, Reimu asks, "You're close to dying, aren't you? I won."

The screens fade away. "THAT..." Papyrus is panting, but trying his best to still look like he still has all his energy. "THAT'S WRONG, FOR YOU SEE..." Papyrus gasps for air. "I NOTICED... YOU WERE STRUGGLING WITH THE BATTLE SYSTEM OF THE UNDERGROUND...! WITH YOUR STRANGE SCREENS AND EXPOSED SOUL, IT IS ONLY NATURAL THIS IS THE CASE FOR YOU, HUMAN! SO, I WENT EASY ON YOU! WHICH MEANS I DIDN'T TRULY LOSE THE REMATCH!"

"Didn't you tell me you wouldn't go easy on me at the start of the battle?" Reimu questions with a blank gaze, finding Papyrus's excuses to be rather ridiculous. _I earned that victory, and no amount of ego-centric babbling will change that!_

"TH-THAT WAS ONLY A FIGURE OF SPEECH, HUMAN! I WANTED TO MOTIVATE YOU TO FIGHT SERIOUSLY! OTHERWISE, I WOULD HAVE DEFEATED YOU FAR TOO EASILY!" Papyrus loudly counters, though it's noticeable that Papyrus's movements are much slower than normal due to fatigue.

 _He's seriously going to keep denying that...?_ Reimu's stare remains blank as she sees Papyrus in an even more delusional light than before. She remembers a few youkai she fought being proud to the point of making excuses, but Papyrus is probably the most prideful she has ever seen in that aspect. Not even Reimu herself would bother to keep lying in such a manner to keep her own pride intact. "Uh-huh..."

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

Papyrus turns around. "NYOO HOO HOO... I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU..." Reimu's eye twitches. _There really should be a limit to how delusional you can be..._ Unfortunately, such a thing doesn't exist in the Underground as much as it doesn't in Gensokyo either. "UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD AND... MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

Reimu crosses her arms. _This is just pitiful now._ "Hey," Reimu calls out. Slowly, Papyrus faces her. "Stop whining." Reimu smiles. "My victory was inevitable. It's not the end of the world just because you can't beat me," she states, "Besides, you're pretty tough, for a skeleton." _In this place's standards,_ Reimu mentally adds. Reimu is sure almost any youkai of Gensokyo could easily beat him to the ground. "As for friends..."

... Reimu smiles apprehensively. "Well, maybe one day you'll meet someone. One day..." _Everyone's weird in this place, so surely someone's gotta get along with him_. Even the weirdest of youkai in Gensokyo have friends of their own, so it's not so impossible in Reimu's mind for Papyrus to have friends. "Don't you have Sans? You should consider yourself lucky you even have family in the first place; it's better than having no one."

"H-HUMAN... ARE YOU TRYING TO CHEER ME UP?" Papyrus asks with a hopeful expression on his skull.

Reimu shrugs. "Sure," she replies, "I suppose I am. I kind of owe you one anyway." Reimu points at her leg warmers. "These are pretty decent against the cold, you know, like sleeves for my legs. Besides, you did let me take a nap on your couch. And washed my socks and shoes. And tried to give me food." _It was the worst food I've ever eaten in my life, but you know..._ "All in all, thanks, I guess."

It's an uncertain sort of gratitude due to the fact that Papyrus, despite his actions, was also attempting to capture Reimu: Papyrus is confusing to Reimu in that sense. Somehow, Reimu can almost see his eye sockets sparkle in reaction to her words... "HUMAN, YOU..."

Then, Papyrus straightens up, confident once more. "YOU'RE VERY WELCOME! SUCH THINGS ARE NO PROBLEM FOR PAPYRUS! IN FACT, YOU CAN RELY ON ME ALL YOU WANT!" _As quick to cheer up as expected, I guess,_ Reimu thinks, looking at Papyrus with a rather neutral demeanor. "AFTER ALL, WHILE I MIGHT HAVE FAILED TO CAPTURE YOU, I CAN STILL SUCCEED AT EDUCATING YOU ON THE UNDERGROUND! SO BELIEVE ME, HUMAN! I WILL MAKE SURE YOU BECOME JUST AS KNOWLEDGEABLE AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

"Seeing as the last time you wanted to educate me about that didn't go very well, I think I'll pass," Reimu immediately responds.

... This seems to have no effect on Papyrus. "THAT WAS WHEN I WAS TEACHING YOU ABOUT PROPER FIGHTING, NOT ABOUT THE UNDERGROUND!" _I'm pretty sure it was both..._ "AND FROM THE TWO DUELS WE HAD, I BELIEVE YOU HAVE LEARNED A LOT FROM ME! SO THAT WAS NO FAILURE BY ANY MEANS!"

"What are you even planning on doing?" Reimu asks, admittedly curious.

She knows Papyrus isn't planning anything good, but not the specifics. "WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU... WHEN YOU'LL BE EXPERIENCING IT FOR YOURSELF?!" Reimu gives him a blank look. As excited as Papyrus seems, Reimu finds she has more important things to be concerned with than Papyrus. "NOW, HUMAN...! TO MY HOUSE!"

"I've got my own things to tend to, you know? I can't just hang around you forever," Reimu asserts, "I need to move on so I can find a way out of here."

"YOU WANT TO LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND? THAT SHOULD BE EASY FOR YOU, HUMAN!" Reimu is now staring at him expectantly. _What does he mean with that? Is it really easier for me to cross the barrier?_ "IF YOU HEAD OVER TO THE KING'S CASTLE, YOU CAN CROSS THE BARRIER WITHOUT A HASSLE! AFTER ALL, ONLY A STRONG SOUL CAN GO THROUGH THE BARRIER, AND HUMAN SOULS ARE VERY STRONG!"

Reimu narrows her eyes. "That doesn't add up, Papyrus," she says, "I flew up to go through the barrier, but it blocked my way."

"WHAT? HMMM... THAT'S WEIRD," Papyrus pensively utters. "IT'S A KNOWN FACT THAT STRONG SOULS LIKE YOURS CAN CROSS THE BARRIER WHILE MONSTERS' CANNOT! MAYBE YOU JUST RAN INTO AN INVISIBLE WALL?"

 _There's no way that was an invisible wall. Who'd even build an invisible wall to begin with?_ Reimu thinks, _It was the barrier for sure. I guess Papyrus has the wrong information..._ Whoever told him that 'known fact' must have been lying, though he seems to speak of it as if it were common sense. "Who knows?" Reimu responds, "Anyway, you said I'd have to go to the king's castle to cross, right? Then I'll try going there." _There might be clues on how to get out._

 _Surely the king would have knowledge of the barrier,_ Reimu assumes. "BUT HUMAN, YOU'VE STILL GOT TO BE EDUCATED ON THE BASICS OF THE UNDERGROUND!" Papyrus exclaims, fairly assertive in tone.

 _I don't think I'd learn much from him if he's already giving me inaccurate information._ "I've got to move on, that's what. It's probably going to be a long journey, and I'm not about to waste more time over here."

"I GUARANTEE YOU IT WON'T BE A WASTE OF TIME! YOU WILL BE ENLIGHTENED BY MY KNOWLEDGE! THAT WILL SURELY BE OF SOME USE TO YOU ON YOUR QUEST!" Papyrus counters, seemingly convicted. Reimu can tell Papyrus won't back down any time soon from his offer...

"I've got to be on the move," Reimu argues, "and whatever you'll do won't involve me moving forward."

Papyrus processes what Reimu has said for a moment. "SO YOU NEED TO BE ON THE MOVE, HUH...? I THINK I MAY JUST HAVE A SOLUTION FOR YOU, HUMAN! IF YOU CAN'T STAY HERE, THEN I CAN JUST SUPPORT YOU FROM A DISTANCE, AND DISPENSE KNOWLEDGE PRECISELY WHERE YOU NEED IT! USING A CELL PHONE, THAT IS!" Papyrus takes out a cell phone. "LET'S EXCHANGE NUMBERS! THAT WAY, IT'LL BE A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR US!"

Reimu stares at the cell phone. She does happen to know what a cell phone is: the design of Papyrus's cell phone is wildly different from what she has seen, but if it truly is one, then its purpose is to communicate with others from long distances; that much Reimu knows. However... "I don't have a cell phone," Reimu states. _And even if I did, I wouldn't know how to use one._

"YOU... DON'T HAVE A CELL PHONE?"

"Where I come from, practically no one has a cell phone."

 **. . .**

"OH, HUMAN! YOUR LIFE MUST HAVE TRULY BEEN A DESOLATE ONE!" And yet again, Papyrus seems to pity Reimu; she glares at him. "I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT LIVING WITHOUT ANY TECHNOLOGY MUST BE LIKE! TO THINK YOU HAD TO SUFFER THROUGH SUCH MADNESS...! YOU'RE A VERY STRONG-WILLED HUMAN! MAYBE ALMOST AS STRONG-WILLED AS ME!"

"For your information, I was just fine living like that," Reimu points out, irritated.

"AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES YOU SO GREAT! YOU CAN SEE ANY LIFESTYLE IN A POSITIVE LIGHT!" Reimu's hand twitches, as if having a sudden urge to whack Papyrus with her Purification Rod. "HOWEVER... IF YOU HAVE NO CELL PHONE, THERE WON'T BE ANY WAY OF CONDUCTING OUR PLANS. THIS IS TROUBLESOME, TO SAY THE LEAST..."

... Reimu sighs. _This argument's starting to become even more of a waste of time than whatever Papyrus was planning._ "You know what?" _Besides, there's also Sans's favor..._ "How about I move on for now and come back when I find a way out for sure? That way, I can do whatever it is you want me to do without any worries since I already know how to get out. It won't be much of a problem then." _Backtracking will be a bit of a hassle, but it's better than arguing with him for hours without having made any progress._

"IN OTHER WORDS, YOU WANT TO BE EDUCATED AFTER YOU TRAVEL THROUGH MOST OF THE UNDERGROUND AND POSSIBLY PICK UP THAT VERY KNOWLEDGE ON THE WAY?" Papyrus questions. "SOUNDS REASONABLE ENOUGH TO ME! MY WISDOM IS WORTH EVEN MORE THAN A LONG JOURNEY!"

Being made aware of just how terrible her proposition is, Reimu becomes slightly apprehensive despite Papyrus's response to it. "S-so, it's a promise, alright?"

"OF COURSE! IT'S A PROMISE, HUMAN!" Papyrus stretches his arm out to Reimu, beaming at her whilst doing so. For a moment, Reimu stares at it confusedly, but then figures the handshake is a more 'official' way to establish the promise. Finding this fairly harmless, Reimu takes his gloved hand and shakes it firmly.

Papyrus seems satisfied with this. "NOW, I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR RETURN!" Papyrus exclaims as he lets go of Reimu's hand. "SEE YOU LATER!" With that, Papyrus dashes away into Snowdin, leaving Reimu to stare at him as he went. _He's gone now, huh..._

Reimu smiles. She then turns around, already seeing dark grounds ahead of her. Casually, Reimu stretches her arms and goes for a light swing of her Purification Rod, as though preparing for future encounters. With a determined gaze, she starts focusing on her own goals completely. "Let's just get moving."

... Reimu shivers. "Agh, this area's even colder than the forest..." Regardless, Reimu steps forward with a bitter frown on her face. _I wonder if Sans was still hiding after the rematch..._ she thinks out of having nothing else in particular to ponder, wanting to distract herself from the cold somehow. _He could've appeared to cheer his own brother up, at least._

 _What a lazy skeleton,_ Reimu mentally remarks. As she moves forward, however, Reimu starts noticing the lack of snow around her. The temperature isn't as low as before. Instead, it seems she is transitioning into a fairly temperate location of the Underground. Dark rocks abound her surroundings, with water falling to her side; Reimu wonders if it's water from the river. The sound of it coursing through is the only thing filling the wondrous silence of the passage Reimu is currently crossing, and the seemingly dark scenery emmits a certain blue glow to it that illuminates her path.

From this, Reimu truly realizes she is now walking through completely unknown territory. This isn't Snowdin, not in the slightest: it is a completely different area, without any trait Reimu can consider familiar. Blue-ish sparkles floating about look almost like fireflies to Reimu, making her distractedly gaze at them as she continues forth. "Well, this place sure is a nice change of scenery..."

... Then, she finds familiar sights within this strange, wondrous area. Namely, a snow-covered (somehow) sentry station in the horizon, with a certain skeleton sitting behind it. _And here I thought I'd never see him again..._ As she steps closer, she finds a vibrant red monster standing next to a flower colored aqua; the contrast attracts Reimu's attention for a moment. To the oppposite side, she spots a yellow monster she has surely seen before in Snowdin: it's a tiny, somewhat reptile-like monster, and it seems to possess no arms.

Out of all this, to Reimu, Sans is the higher (and only) priority. "Hey," she calls as she approaches him. "What are you doing here?"

Sans merely tilts his skull lightly in Reimu's direction, as if too lazy for much more. Reimu narrows her eyes in irritation from such a reaction, but decides to just position herself right in front of him anyway. "what, never seen a guy with two jobs before?" Technically, Reimu has her shrine maiden duties and the job of exterminating troublemakers, so she also has two jobs. However, she looks at Sans with suspicion.

"... Are you sure you're not just stalking me?"

"technically, it's part of being a sentry to watch for humans," Sans responds, "so you can't blame me for doing my job, bucko." He winks. "this station's really one of my own though, so i'm supposed to be hard at work here."

 _'Supposed to be', huh..._ But not _actually_ hard at work, Reimu figures. "How can you even manage two sentry stations at the same time?" Reimu asks with a curious look on her face. _Who'd even leave this weird skeleton with two sentry stations at the same time anyway? It's obvious he'd slack off._

"i've got my ways." Reimu raises an eyebrow from such a statement. _His powers...?_

He does seem to be able to teleport, which would be rather convenient for his job. However, that doesn't make him able to be in two spots at the same time: one sentry station must be empty now that Sans is in this one. "Well, I've got to go," Reimu says, "I'm supposed to be moving forward, after all." Reimu doesn't feel up to being a hypocrite and wasting time with Sans when she clearly left Papyrus behind.

Besides, now that she has a clear objective in mind, Reimu feels more determined than ever to reach that destination. "plannin' to swing by the king's castle?" _He really was listening in before..._ "i'd be careful if i were you. if you fly over, you might just be spotted by monsters way more relentless than papyrus. and then, well... i'm sure that wouldn't be very pleasant for you. not being used to battlin' in the underground and all."

"I can handle myself just fine," Reimu counters with a confident smile, "If anything comes my way, I'll just beat it to the ground!"

Sans shrugs. It may just be her intuition, but Reimu reckons Sans is uconvinced; she doesn't let this affect her. "if you say so."

Reimu simply walks away after hearing those words, figuring there is nothing else to talk about with Sans. Ahead of her, she sees a great waterfall rushing downwards along many sizable rocks; it looks as stunning as it does dangerous to Reimu. That sight almost made her miss the box before it, one that she could recognize from Snowdin. _Another one? Whoever's making this weird box scam should really be stopped._ According to the bear monster by Grillby's, the Underground does have someone to take care of troublemakers, so Reimu wonders what exactly that monster is doing if not solving this problem.

While the waterfall looks somewhat pretty, it is definitely blocking her way; the wooden path off the side seems to lead nowhere either. To others, this would be a problem, but for Reimu, this is just a small, small inconvenience. With a smile on her face, Reimu flies over the waterfall and lands on the other side effortlessly. "There you go," she mutters.

Light pours from the passage's exit: the next area seems more illuminated than this one, Reimu notes. _Hopefully it has a higher ceiling too,_ she think as she looks up. With a somewhat neutral expression, she walks through the exit and sees before her nothing more than a wide patch of tall, seemingly humid plants of a blue-ish hue. To her left, there is an even taller elevated ground that Reimu cannot see above of: is there even anything on that part of the area?

At the very least, Reimu knows she doesn't want to cross the strange plants so she decides she is better off flying to higher ground and then getting back down to leave than doing so. "Yo...!" However, as she floats off the ground by a few centimeters, she hears a voice of admiration. Reimu turns to the voice's source, which happens to be within the plants she wanted to avoid. They rustle about as the monster hidden is presumably moving towards Reimu.

She immediately gets back on the ground with defensive stance, staring at the plants warily. "Who's there?" she asks, narrowing her eyes.

... However, she relaxes at the precise moment she sees a tiny monster coming out of the vegetation. _Wasn't this monster near Sans's sentry station?_ The monster seems energetic, looking at Reimu with a big grin on its face. "How can you fly like that? You don't have any wings!" Reimu is slightly thrown aback by the attention she is receiving: flying is nothing remarkable Gensokyo, and yet this small, armless monster seems quite impressed by such an ordinary feat.

"Well," Reimu awkwardly starts, "It's an ability I have. What's it to you? It's nothing special where I come from." From its stature and attitude, the monster child looks practically harmless, so Reimu finds no need to keep her guard up.

This is strange to her, so she still feels slightly awkward. In general, the monsters she has been encountering so far have practically no will to fight, which is a great change from the mood of Gensokyo, especially when it comes to youkai. "Nothing special?! It's AWESOME! I wish I could do that! I bet it'd be really convenient, ha ha..."

Reimu smiles. The monster child brought up a topic she is very comfortable conversing about, so her feelings of awkwardness disappear. "Oh, it's convenient, alright," Reimu says, "While walking is a pain because you get tired after a while, flying isn't tiring at all; it's much faster too. So none of you can fly around here?"

"Monsters with wings can, I guess," the small monster responds, as if that were unimportant. "Do you use magic for that? YO, can you teach me?!"

"Huh?" Reimu reacts almost instantly, surprised and confused at the same time. This truly is a situation she has never come across before: no youkai has ever wanted to be taught how to fly, or requested training from her at all. Even if they were to do such a thing, Reimu would probably beat them up indiscriminately for attempting to mess with her (seeing as youkai are overall strong and wouldn't need any training from a human such as Reimu).

The monster clumsily attempts to approach Reimu, but before it can even reach her, a sudden blue light in the shape of a spear falls from above, making the ground shake when colliding with it. "What the...?!" Reimu utters, seeing the spear right in front of her, as if separating her from the monster child. It seems more solid now that it's immobile, and all the more intimidating for its sharp edges.

Meanwhile, the monster is rising from the ground, seemingly having tumbled due to the spear's fall. Reimu looks up, only to see another spear aimed directly for her. As the tiny monster gasps in awe of the spear, Reimu jumps back to dodge it. "Who's there?!" Reimu questions, brandishing her Purification Rod at the elevated ground she is facing.

Reimu assumes that is where the monster responsible for throwing the spears is located, as there is no presence on the ceiling and the spears came from above. "Whoa..." the monster child mutters, "it's..."

"It's UNDYNE!"

Reimu momentarily turns to the small monster. "Undyne?" _I remember that name from Papyrus..._ However, Reimu herself knows nothing of this Undyne entity. Three spears fall from the higher ground, and Reimu manages to dodge two of them. The third one is faster that than the other two, which throws Reimu off slightly: instead of stepping out of its range, Reimu conjures a barrier to block the spear.

The spear collides with the barrier and is sent flying in the opposite direction. It hits the ceiling at great speeds, making a few rocks fall from that point. Reimu's eyebrows raise skeptically as she hums. "So you're Undyne, huh?" Reimu smiles confidently.

"How about you face me head on instead of hiding up there, you hear me?!" Reimu shouts out... blissfully unaware of the consequences such an action would lead to. The monster child watches this scene in pure awe, its eyes practically sparkling in excitement: this seems epic beyond words to the monster.

Reimu steps back at suddenly seeing a figure jumping out of the higher ground at blinding speeds, seemingly falling in her direction. Reimu assumes that figure is Undyne, and Undyne is holding a spear pointed downwards. Just before the tip of that spear touches the red ribbon on Reimu's head, she floats away from her original position.

... The force of the collision from Undyne and the spear is so great that it forms a crater. Reimu suddenly feels glad she decided to take off from the ground to avoid the attack... Undyne rips the spear out of the ground as if it were a simple stick, and faces Reimu with said weapon pointed at her in one swift motion that even produces wind from the sheer speed. Intimidating as this is, it fails to impress Reimu, who has seen youkai able to make the ground shake by simply walking on it. **"HIDE?!** _ **HAH!**_ _"_

That booming voice unmistakably comes from Undyne, whose face cannot be seen by Reimu. She is wearing full armor, so the only part Reimu can somewhat see from a thin gap in the helmet is a single amber-colored eye fiercely locked onto her. "As if I'd hide from someone like YOU!"

"Well, it sure looked like you were hiding from me to avoid a real match," Reimu remarks with a devious smile, knowing her words would upset Undyne. "Since you weren't showing up and all."

... Undyne almost breaks her own spear in half. "Thought I was cowering from you, punk?! **THINK AGAIN!** There's no way I'd ever hide from you or ANYONE in fear!"

"Y-yo..." That voice makes both Reimu and Undyne focus on the monster kid. However, the monster is facing Reimu. "Why is Undyne fighting you? Did... did you do anything bad?"

Reimu shrugs. "Honestly, I have no idea," she responds, "but if it's a fight she wants, it's a fight she'll get." Seemingly determined, Reimu brandishes her Purification Rod. _And this time, I won't need any rematch!_

"Hmph," Undyne utters in reaction to Reimu's words, and then says to the monster child, "Get out of here, kid." The monster falters when stepping back, hesitant to leave. _"I'll_ handle this!" From the pressure of Undyne (of all monsters) telling them to leave, they ends up doing so, albeit with a nervous look on their face.

 **. . .**

Undyne refrains from speaking so as to properly focus on confirming whether the monster child truly is gone from the area, and Reimu simply spectates. In a way, watching Undyne's actions reminds her of her own duties, as she is supposed to keep the peace and balance of Gensokyo. Undyne then turns to Reimu once again. "Seven," Undyne states. The contrast between how loud she sounded previously and how calm she is sounding now confuses Reimu slighty, as she feels Undyne is speaking of something with considerable meaning. "Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a God. He will break the barrier and take back the surface from the humans."

 _Seven human souls to break the barrier...? Was that why Papyrus and Sans were originally out to capture me? And those dogs from the Royal Guard too..._ "Six," Undyne continues; Reimu remains silent. "That is the number of souls we've collected thus far! With your soul, our king can finally fulfill everyone's hopes and dreams! Freedom will be ours to grasp after years of living underground! THAT'S why your existence alone is a crime! And the only way to atone for it is to **DIE!"** Undyne grabs a nearby spear from the ground, and brandishes both.

Reimu doesn't even need to see Undyne's face to figure she is speaking from the depths of her soul, with almost unrivaled passion for not only her duties, but her kind and land. Her determination to see through the fight that is undoubtedly about to be engaged practically seeps from her only eye, locked on to Reimu's seemingly neutral gaze. All of her words are genuine, unwavering. From those alone, Reimu can tell that the one monster the bear spoke of, the 'fish lady' that is encharged with taking care of problems can only be Undyne.

... Reimu smiles. "Sorry," she simply says, "but that's just not going to happen." Four ying-yang orbs hover around Reimu. _Someone speaking out like that... is probably going to pack a punch as strong as mine in a duel._ "Because you're not the only one in charge of others' hopes and dreams."

Reimu assumes a fighting stance, returning Undyne's determined gaze with just as much conviction. "My name is Reimu Hakurei, Shrine Maiden of Paradise! My job involves keeping the peace of my homeland, so I'm not about to let everyone down and lose to you!"

 **'*Light shines upon the battleground.'**

With this as the trigger, the duel begins. Reimu wastes no time shooting an amount of projectiles much higher than when she was fighting Papyrus. While the pattern of the waves of amulets remains the same vertical rows, there are now other red and white projectiles being shot out so as to obstruct the gaps left by it, making it that much harder to dodge. Not only that, but the speed and power of the attack in general is much faster.

Naturally, Reimu's turn ends with 76 HP taken from Undyne. "Don't think I have no idea of what you've been doing around here! The Snowdin Canine Unit came barking at me with a report about how a human knocked them out almost instantly," Undyne says, "They were all shaking in fear! And now I can see why."

Undyne has a spear pass through Reimu's soul, which somehow makes it change color. "Huh...?!" Her soul is now green, and as much as she tries to move it, it doesn't budge. The screen's size is shrinked until it can only accomodate Reimu's soul... and the light blue spear that has suddenly appeared in front of it. _Another weird ability?_

 **"YOU'RE AS DETERMINED AS THE HISTORY BOOKS SAY!"** _History books?_ Reimu confusedly thinks. An arrow-like projectile comes from the right at a moderate speed: when she focuses on it, the spear faces that direction as well. At the precise moment the arrow hits the spear, it disappears, and Reimu sustains no damage whatsoever. _So that's how it works... It's way simpler than Papyrus's attack: it's just about timing._ "Fuhuhuhu! You didn't even need me to tell you anything to figure out how everything works when you're green! You did it all from the **_HEART!_** **WIHOUT A SINGLE DROP OF HESITATION!** That's why you're an important figure, isn't it?!"

"I don't even know what you're talking about," Reimu admits with an apprehensive smile. Then, she makes sure to block the arrows coming from above and left sequentially. "Since my homeland's completely isolated, I don't think you'd know me from any History book either." _I'm not that old anyway,_ Reimu thinks, frowning at the idea of being old.

After a few more arrows perfectly blocked, Reimu gets through Undyne's attack unscathed. "Don't act all modest on me! I've watched enough anime to know you're the kind of human important figure that takes care of all the bad guys in your way while thinking of your comrades! You might hide that from them in your daily life and pretend to just be a normal, harmless shrine maiden, but you can't hide any of that from ME!" _Where did she even get all this nonsense from?_

"Well, you're right about one thing," Reimu affirms, "I do take care of all the bad guys in my way!" A spellcard emerges. **"Divine Arts: Omnidirectional Dragon-Slaying Circle!"** Two diagonal rows of golden amulets and various vertical ones with red amulets limit movement greatly for Undyne, and as these rows move from left to right at a steady, somewhat fast pace, red, arrow-like projectiles are spread out like a circle, almost fully occupying the gaps from the initial amulets.

It is truly more brutal than the easier equivalent used on Toriel and Papyrus, which is verifiable from the fact that it ended up dealing 164 damage to Undyne. However, it is still a mere spellcard: it isn't made to inflict any fatal damage, if any serious damage at all. Even so, in Reimu's perspective, Undyne is just another youkai, and this is how she deals with them on an incident. "You even have skill names for your magic! **I KNEW IT!** The books in the library were LYING about humans not being able to express themselves with it all along! **_NGAAAAH!"_** Seemingly (too) full of energy, Undyne practically throws her helmet aside whilst removing it, making Reimu finally be able to see that she does resemble a fish in various ways.

However, in the middle of processing all the incomprehensible things Undyne has been saying, Reimu doesn't even think of this. Instead, she focuses on Undyne's attacks, which are noticeably faster this time around. She probably picked up on how easily Reimu had blocked the arrow projectiles before and made sure this would be more challenging. Three arrows in a row coming from below are swiftly stopped, and so is the lone arrow flying from the left. This pattern repeats itself clockwise, and stops after the three arrows come from the right and the other one comes from below.

Yet again, Reimu is unscathed; she crosses her arms irritatedly. _This is really easy. Is she underestimating me?_ "Don't get cocky! You humans might be determined... But monsters can be determined too!" Undyne proudly exclaims, "I've got all of monsterkind on the line here. Their hopes, their dreams...! With all as one, we _cannot_ lose! Not even against you!"

"You might have all that on the line, but you at least don't have the collapse of your society riding on you! Every youkai acts for their own benefit, thinking they're entitled to more than they deserve! If I'm not there to make things right, there won't be any balance in that cat-eats-mouse land!" Reimu counters before throwing rows upon rows of red amulets and grey amulets in opposite diagonal directions. A great amount of ying-yang orbs is also present with the attack, effectively obstructing movement. "So I can't lose either, no matter what!"

Reimu finishes her attack exactly when she ends her speech, having taken 82 HP from Undyne. Despite Reimu's relentless attacks, Undyne still looks completely convicted. To Reimu, this sort of intensity is way too much, but she can definitely understand why she would feel that way if it comes to her duties. While Reimu isn't as greatly intense or motivated, she at least considers herself dedicated enough to pull through in any situation regarding her job as the Hakurei shrine maiden, and that's all she needs in her own opinion. "Then **THIS FIGHT** will decide who's more determined!"

"Fine by me! I won't lose though," Reimu responds before noticing Undyne's spear passing through her soul again, and the screen slightly increasing in size. Her soul has become a red heart again, though the screen is still smaller than what Reimu had expected; it's fairly narrow as well. A white projectile in the shape of a spear rises from the left corner; thankfully, Reimu is positioned in the middle.

However, another gets shot up in the middle, making Reimu have to move her soul to the right. A spear rises from the middle again, and then from the right, forcing Reimu to the middle once more. The spears keep rising like columns one by one at a fairly fast pace, and while this is still not very hard for Reimu to dodge, it's more engaging nonetheless. Reimu readies a spellcard for her turn.

"That's what YOU think!" Undyne exclaims with a wild grin, "You might be an important human who's used to fighting demons and giant robots on a daily basis with determination alone, but I'm **_MUCH STRONGER!"_** As if to confirm her statement, Undyne throws one of her spears aside (it almost pierces through the entirety of the wall it collides with), drops her other spear and then effortlessly suplexes a boulder that fell from the impact of one of her spears hitting the ceiling. "I didn't become Head of the Royal Guard for nothing!"

Undyne then throws the rock in the same direction she threw the spear she had been previously holding, the booming sound of its landing reverberating throughout the area. She takes out a spear that was stuck to the ground and picks up her other spear, leaving her with two of them yet again. _Why bring up giant robots? Sanae's popping to mind..._ "I don't fight giant robots," Reimu asserts, "but I sure have won against youkai leagues stronger than you!" They took her a few rematches to beat, but she has certainly done it. **"Dream Land: Super Duplex Barrier!"**

Space is turned inside out through a gap in the borders of reality, originating a unique set of barriers: the now much more numerous rows of amulets are shot out, only to appear at the end of the first barrier and fly inwards, and then emerge at the beginning of the second barrier close to Undyne, flying towards her direction again. In reality, the amulets had only spread themselves outwards, but the barrier makes their course wildly different, so one who has never seen such a spellcard before would never quite tell where they would end up. Dodging the amulets is further made difficult with the inclusion of vertical rows of grey amulets that block the horizontal path one would have to make to dodge the red amulets. This spellcard deals 153 damage to Undyne.

 _These youkai are really sturdy,_ Reimu mentally remarks, _but I guess I should've expected that out of them._ ** _"NGAAAHH!_** Enough warming up!" Undyne shouts before turning Reimu's soul green again. _The arrows again? Didn't she just say she was done warming up?_

Reimu stares at the screens before her with a neutral expression before focusing on the arrow coming from the right at fairly fast speeds. As it gets swiftly blocked, Reimu notices a golden arrow coming from below. While its change in color would usually mean a different effect in the Underground, Reimu doesn't know what effect it has so she faces the spear in front of her soul downwards... and watches the arrow's direction switch to the opposite side, hitting her from above. _Golden arrows are reversed...?!_ The arrow takes 3 HP from her; Reimu tenses.

Two golden arrows come from different directions. The fastest one is coming from the left, so Reimu makes sure to face the right. As expected, it switches to its opposite side and gets blocked by Reimu, so she repeats the process with the next golden arrow. Afterwards, she finds herself blocking white arrows from above, below, right... And an unexpectedly fast golden arrow flying downwards, though it also manages to be stopped. _Alright, this is still easy enough,_ Reimu thinks, _I've just got to focus more on the golden ones since I might get confused._

With that in mind, Reimu prepares to fire her next attack. "HUMAN?!" However, she immediately stops her actions when she hears a familiar voice from above. "THE HUMAN _AND_ UNDYNE...?!" Undyne seems just as surprised as Reimu, and faces the same direction as well.

From the very edge of the area's higher ground, Reimu and Undyne faintly see Papyrus. He, too, seems surprised at this situation as he looks down at the various holes created by spears, the loose rocks scattered about, the crater Undyne formed, and the few spears still stuck on the ground and walls... It seems as though a war broke out in the area, even though the closest thing to such an event is the duel currently going on.

... Uncaring of such details, both Reimu and Undyne exclaim, **"Papyrus?!"**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

Cliffhanger! It's a cliffhanger because one definitely has to wonder what will happen to poor Papyrus now that he got in between this situation. Anyway, action scenes make me so so so nervous! I don't have much confidence in them, and that makes me especially sad because people are most likely already unsatisfied with the battle system in general, so if I portray it in a dull manner, it'll get worse. Besides, there are plenty of fights in Undertale, and Reimu is sure to want in on such stuff so I can't just... suck at them.

Though now I bet it's too late ;_; Since you already saw a battle between Papyrus and Reimu, I didn't find it necessary to write another one completely, especially because the only difference would be Reimu succeeding slightly more at jumping over bones. So... I had Marisa meet Youmu! Youmu's really straightforward and not as michievous as most Touhou characters, so she's fun to write because she's different in that aspect; she's one of the few sticks in the mud in Touhou. In general, that scene had the purpose of making you wonder about Yukari, even though it's been like previous scenes since Marisa has to explain Reimu's disappearance to everyone. I can't help having to make it happen over and over again, they don't know! Besides, I do like writing the characters' reactions to this.

At least to me, conversations are more interesting than fighting. I don't think I'm very good at descriptions, and action scenes basically require good descriptions (among other, equally important things) to work. In general, I am trying my best to describe what's happening in a clear manner but try not to get you bored of it; however... I'm really nervous. Not only that, but a crippling disadvantage when it comes to fighting in this story is Reimu's spellcards: she uses spellcards so she holds back and doesn't make as much damage as she would if she were seriously dueling her opponent... but that's not even the main problem. The problem is that Reimu doesn't have many spellcards to choose from, so the fear of running out of spellcards to describe in the middle of a battle or having it all be the same over and over is SUPER REAL.

I don't want to make up my own spellcards since they probably wouldn't be very danmaku-ish in comparison; I'd suck at coming up with names too. Anyway, I rather enjoy writing Reimu interacting with everyone: she's just such a great character, especially because her seemingly rude and violent personality is accompanied, in canon, by various hints of her caring a great deal about Gensokyo and not being completely insensitive. What makes me the most uneasy about writing her is just the fact that ZUN states in Strange Creators of Outer World that even he doesn't really know what Reimu's thinking as he writes her (like most of the youkai), and I've been writing her thoughts all throughout the story...

Whatever the case, interactions with Reimu are really fun to write for me, and I especially like how well she can work off of Sans. Admittedly, it's harder for Reimu to work off of Papyrus since he's too great for everyone, but I also enjoyed writing them interacting and think they get along nicely enough. However, I've totally gotta point out Reimu's dialogue with Undyne, because it was a strange mix between hilarious and serious ^^' I think Undyne and Reimu have a lot of common ground, though Undyne is really hot-headed while Reimu's easygoing: however, they are both reckless, violent, and very dutiful at the same time. I feel like Reimu would be able to relate to Undyne's words, which made for Reimu to increase the difficulty of her spellcards to Lunatic mode, as if to treat her as an equal in the battle: I didn't think of this at first, but it was actually a passable way not to have the spellcards be the exact same when it comes to descriptions.

Not only that, but Reimu hits harder in Lunatic mode and that's really great when her opponent has 1500 HP and I can't afford to keep on skipping battles repeatedly. So... I saved myself without knowing it at first? Either way, I really liked that I could take advantage of the common ground they both have to showcase more of Reimu's dutiful, determined side. And yes, Reimu has epically announced her name and title out to her opponent with equally dramatic words **AT LEAST** 2 times so deal with it, it's not OOC XD Ever since I started brainstorming concepts for a fight with Undyne, I knew that Undyne would have to think Reimu's straight out of her 'History books' and wouldn't talk to Reimu in the same way she would to Frisk, who is just a human child with pacifist tendencies.

Reimu's beaten up the Royal Guard in Snowdin and basically is a manga character (she's a game character above all but you get the idea): Undyne would never give her speech about being a goody-two-shoes or about being a murderous prick to Reimu, much less look down on her determination. Instead, I figured she'd acknowledge it, but still consider herself stronger and better than Reimu, wanting to prove that monsters can be just as convicted and fight for their freedom. Despite the fact that Undyne wants to kill her, Reimu is still using spellcards because... well, equal as she may be, Reimu doesn't intend to kill her. In a way, you could still say she's going easy on Undyne despite the fact that she's after her soul, but Reimu is a bit more merciful than you'd think in that regard. Not _completely_ merciful, though... (*glances at Forbidden Scrollery*)

You might be wondering if I'm pulling a Toriel on you again, but don't worry; that won't happen. Even so, I have to admit that I'm really just going with the flow for Waterfall because I can't find the best way to get through the area all that clearly. I mean, if you think about it, Reimu and Undyne are too reckless to hide or run from each other if they ever get spotted: they'd fight for sure. With that in mind, I found the outcome of the fight happening in the room where Papyrus talks with Undyne unavoidable. However, that doesn't mean we will/should skip through Waterfall: Waterfall is such a big and gorgeous area; taking it out would be like taking a third of the Underground away. Instead, this battle will surely be solved somehow now that Papyrus has arrived, no? No...?

Speaking of gorgeous, I was rightfully told I should give more importance to the scenery of the Underground (especially its scale), so I'm going to make sure the beautiful place that is Waterfall gets properly portrayed for how stunning it truly is! Hopefully I won't disappoint the reviewer that pointed this out for me ;_; I wanted Reimu to talk to the monster kid some more, but I figured that'd be a stretch if Undyne's practically there: I'm honestly hoping I'll get to write them again but I'm going with the flow so I'm not sure. You might also be wondering why I skipped the Grillby's scene with Sans: it's simple, really. Reimu would've been a hypocrite if it had happened since she told Papyrus she was in a hurry and wanted to move on. However, while I don't have Waterfall planned out, every other area is pretty clear in my mind so you don't have to worry about the stuff skipped in Snowdin at all! You probably won't have to worry about Hotland either.

... I don't know why Waterfall's being this difficult, to be honest. Well, either way, to finish off these long authors' notes, lol I gave the Annoying Dog a purpose, it's just great: I mean, Chara was Frisk's narrator (up for interpretation; it's a theory) in Undertale but in Sanbouken, the dog's providing everything. I don't even know why, Reimu beat up all the dogs XD However, she didn't kill them, and wanted to teach them a lesson so I guess she is forgiven. The Annoying Dog had to do something SOMEWHERE, and I'm at least glad it was something productive. Anyway, look forward to what'll happen in the rest of Undyne's fight? Because I'll actually be writing that instead of skipping it ^^'

 **Best deleted sentence of the chapter:** None, actually... everything went pretty well on that end somehow.


	6. Chapter 6

**First Words:**

* * *

 **Guest - XD I don't think Undyne would go into that undying state in the Genocide route here though. This is because Undyne only was able to do so out of being shouldered with the determination of the** _ **entire Earth**_ **to kill Frisk; I reckon it to be a mode Undyne cannot willingly enter. If anything, such a state of being where she's much stronger requires more physical mass than Undyne truly has, so she'd end up dying if she did so in this story ;_; So Papyrus = Undyne's savior if that were truly a thing XD Either way, thank you for reviewing!**

 **b-wolf95 - Yukari's the sort of youkai you're not supposed to understand; her actions, therefore, will be fairly mysterious. But yeah, too lazy for direct action XD Oh my, you're asking if Asriel is going to be in this story? Surely you must know that Asriel already** _ **is**_ **in this story; appears in Chapter 1, in fact ;D I feel uncomfortable writing the Annoying Dog and I wouldn't wanna do the impossible so I don't think I'll be able to genderbend him and have him be friends with Yukari, sorry. As for the sequel, I have a few plans already, but they're in a really rough stage so I can't guarantee that it'll be a thing. What I can say is that I chose the story to be set a bit after Double Dealing Character because of the sequel more than anything ^^ Whatever the case, thank you for reviewing as always!**

 **peachlemonade - omg thank you! ;_; That's amazing to read! I was honestly fearing that I was putting** _ **too much**_ **content into each chapter so I'm glad that's something you are enjoying! I wanted to portray in the best possible way how it would truly be like for Reimu to be in Frisk's place, so I am putting quite a lot of effort into this story. I like writing conversations more than I do battles because I'm more comfortable doing so, really: action scenes put me out of my comfort zone ^^' So I usually get really nervous writing them, especially since the battle system in this story can be considered somewhat lackluster to picture. However, it's awesome knowing that you even enjoyed that part! Naturally, I did try my best to portray the action going on, so whenever I read stuff like that, I feel really accomplished. I've been seeing the Touhou wiki to get more spellcards, actually: I get scared of running out of spellcards because I want to have them be a thing, but almost never repeat the same ones so as to keep it interesting. However, some spellcards Reimu has are less, uh... flashy? With lots of projectiles? Than others, and I don't want to deal with that lack of balance... By the way, I can't put up pictures in this website, as neat as that idea sounds ^^' Anyway, thank you very much for reviewing!**

 **Anonomyon - That does sound hilarious, I'll consider it XD As I said above, I've actually been checking the Touhou wiki for spellcards, but I still get nervous because I can't just use a spellcard that doesn't have that many projectiles with others that do ;_; A lot of her fighting game spellcards aren't very usable, for example. Whatever the case, thank you for reviewing!**

As always, these guest review may take up some space, but hopefully that's understandable! I can't help it 8D Anyway, since the last chapter, this story got 20 favorites and 18 followers! It's kind of rare to get more favorites than followers, but I guess it just happened ^^ This story's almost up to a hundred followers too, which is pretty huge... 0.0 Hopefully this many people will stick around until the end! I was doubting it at first, but it does look like I could upload this on my birthday, so uh, I'm giving you a birthday present... on my own birthday? Or something like that. By the way, Bishamonten is a god in Japanese mythology (and in others too, but I'm not that knowledgeable), and the Yama are, uh, judges that decide your fate after death (or basically, where you go after death). And yes: Rinnosuke's literally the only one Reimu bothers being slightly respectful to since apparently she uses honorifics on the guy; I mischecked this before and feel ashamed now that I know ;_;

Whatever the case, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 6: The Last Hero Standing**

* * *

"Wait, Papyrus!" Undyne exclaims, "You _KNOW_ this human?!" Undyne even points at Reimu, making said shrine maiden raise an eyebrow at that. _I'm more surprised that he's here._

Papyrus, realizing the reason for Undyne's words, seems slightly more nervous now. "W-WELL... YES." _Now that I think about it, Papyrus was out to capture me,_ Reimu asserts in her mind, _but Undyne is here for my soul or something like that... Why didn't Papyrus just want that too?_

"What happened to capturing her?!" Undyne questions. "Don't tell me you just let her slip away!"

Papyrus waves his arms in denial. "NO, OF COURSE NOT! I FOUGHT HER VALIANTLY, AND ATTEMPTED TO CAPTURE HER AS BEST I COULD!" _He didn't even lock his shed's door to imprison me, let alone attempt to capture me; what's he going on about?_ "HOWEVER, DESPITE MY BEST EFFORTS, I... I FAILED." Papyrus looks down at the ground in shame. To him, it's impossible to lie to someone like Undyne, so he could not say anything to oppose the fact that he failed. He didn't want to let Undyne down by lying.

Undyne narrows her single eye. "Failed, huh?" Even Undyne knows the weight behind those words coming from Papyrus. She glances at Reimu, who seems to be confidently smiling at the mention of her victory. "I'm not surprised." Papyrus immediately faces her gaze again. "This shrine maiden human isn't just strong. She's DETERMINED!" Reimu nods proudly at this. "She took down the Snowdin Canine Unit as if they were just **SIMPLE PILES OF SNOW!"** Reimu continues nodding. "You **BETTTER** be proud of getting away from her without so much as a broken bone!" _Exactly, exactly._

While Undyne definitely would have preferred Papyrus succeeding at his mission, she also knew such a thing probably wouldn't have been possible: she has trained Papyrus; she knows him well. He is too soft for the line of work he aspires to be in, but tries his best to make Undyne proud regardless. Papyrus's self-confidence and hard-working personality are something Undyne wouldn't want unencouraged, or even diminished: it's in that way that Papyrus truly shines, after all. While Papyrus would definitely come back around after his failure, Undyne at least wanted him to know she isn't all that disappointed. "U-UNDYNE... YOU..."

"YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!" _Wait, was she saying that to cheer him up or something?_ Initially, Reimu did think Undyne was just stating facts. "THE HUMAN IS REMARKABLY STRONG AND DETERMINED!" However, seeing as she is still being rightfully praised, Reimu doesn't mind this conversation. "WHILE I MAY HAVE FAILED AT CAPTURING HER, I WILL SURELY SUCCEED AT VARIOUS OTHER ASPECTS! AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT."

"THAT'S the spirit!" Undyne exclaims. "Now **GET OUT OF HERE!** We're in the middle of a battle!"

"Actually, wait," Reimu utters, looking somewhat curious. "What are you doing here, Papyrus?" _Is he stalking me too...?_ Reimu looks towards the left and right, as if to search for Sans. Naturally, she sees no signs of him. _Maybe it runs in the family..._

She shrugs. "I WAS GOING TO REPORT WHAT HAPPENED TO UNDYNE!" Papyrus proudly exclaims. "BUT IT LOOKS LIKE SHE'S BUSY NOW." He glances to the side afterwards. _"REALLY_ BUSY. I WAS HOPING YOU WOULDN'T COME ACROSS HER, HUMAN. HOWEVER, LUCK ISN'T ON YOUR SIDE NOW."

"What's wrong with meeting her?" _It's not like fighting her is becoming that much of a hassle._ If anything, her fight with Undyne was proving too easy for her tastes. Reimu can only hope that with the new gimmicks, it'll become more challenging.

Undyne glances at Reimu before stating with conviction, **"YEAH!** What's wrong with me finding the human, huh?!"

... Papyrus realizes the implications of his words. "N-NOTHING! AFTER ALL, IT'S PART OF YOUR JOB!" _Just whose side is this skeleton on?_ It seems that after failing to capture Reimu, he is defending her while trying to side with Undyne: this doesn't happen when she is solving incidents, so she finds this behavior strange. "BUT... THERE'S JUST A SMALL PROBLEM WITH THAT."

Both Reimu and Undyne give Papyrus confused looks. "What problem?!" Undyne loudly questions. Undyne, too, is finding it strange that Papyrus is in some way supporting a human such as Reimu, even if she is no ordinary human. While she wants to go back to the battle, Undyne gives priority to getting answers.

"W-WELL... THE HUMAN PROMISED SHE WAS GOING TO BE EDUCATED ON THE UNDERGROUND'S CUSTOMS BY ME," Papyrus explains, "AND IT WOULD BE..." He narrows his eye sockets. "INCOVENIENT TO HAVE SUCH LESSONS WHILE SHE IS CAPTURED."

"Huh?" Undyne's reaction is practically instantaneous, seeing as Papyrus's words rendered her even more confused than before. "Lessons?! Why are you even teaching the human anything?!"

"It's a long story," Reimu casually replies, reminding herself of her time in Snowdin.

Meanwhile, Papyrus presents a much more serious demeanor in light of this discussion. "IF I CAN'T SUCCEED AT CAPTURING HER, THEN I MUST AT LEAST SUCCEED AT THIS! SURELY YOU'D UNDERSTAND, UNDYNE!" Undyne raises an eyebrow, seemingly skeptical. "YOU WOULD ALSO RESORT TO THESE METHODS TO RESTORE YOUR LOST PRIDE!"

 ** _"LOST PRIDE?!"_** Undyne exclaims, "So you want to make up for the crushing defeat you've suffered through by beating her at something else?!" _I'm pretty sure teaching me things doesn't count as a competition,_ Reimu thinks with an awkward smile, _Besides, that fight wasn't all that successful._

However, Reimu decides not to comment on that matter. **_"IS THAT IT?!"_** Undyne loudly questions, a truly intimidating glare almost piercing through Papyrus's eye sockets.

"Y-YES," Papyrus responds, as if unsure of how Undyne will react. "THAT'S PRECISELY IT, UNDYNE!"

... She grins. "Then why didn't you just **SAY SO?!"** With a swift, almost blinding swing of one of her spears, she points at Reimu. "Right now, our duel is deciding who's got the most determination! It's deciding whose hopes and dreams shine the strongest! It's the **_ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN!"_** Reimu nods proudly, not intimidated at all by the magical blue spear right in front of her. "When I win it, she'll have nowhere to run!"

" _'If'_ you win it, you mean," Reimu interjects as if she were uttering common sense. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I'd say I've got pretty high chances of beating you instead." She confidently smiles at Undyne, brandishing her Purification Rod to retaliate Undyne's supposedly intimidating actions.

"YOU'RE the one getting ahead of yourself if you're telling me something like that!" Undyne counters. "With my victory, I'll make sure you get through Papyrus's lessons without escaping a single time! **HE'LL BE THE BEST DAMN TEACHER YOU'VE EVER HAD!** That way, he'll get his pride back and I'll still have you captured afterwards!"

"Fuhuhuhu! It's the **PERFECT PLAN!"** Undyne turns towards Papyrus with a wide grin. **_"RIGHT, PAPYRUS?!"_**

Papyrus nods excitedly. "OF COURSE! THANK YOU, UNDYNE! NOW I CAN FULFILL MY PROMISE WITH THE HUMAN AND YOU CAN CAPTURE HER ALL YOU WANT! I COULDN'T BE MORE GRATEFUL FOR THIS!"

"Great!" Undyne exclaims, "Now get out of here **FOR REAL!** I'm in the middle of the showdown!"

Reimu crosses her arms. "And why can't Papyrus watch me beat you up? There's nothing wrong with spectators." As long as they don't get in the way, everyone in Gensokyo is rather accepting of spectators, in fact. It's because of this that Reimu finds herself asking that to Undyne.

"You mean why can't he watch ME beat YOU up, punk! And that's _OBVIOUSLY_ because he might get hit by collateral damage!" Undyne retorts, almost as if berating Reimu for her ignorance.

"Well, not when he's on higher ground," Reimu argues, "None of our attacks are aimed upwards as far as I know." _Because we're targetting each other,_ Reimu mentally adds, not wanting to state what everyone knows already.

"WOWIE, HUMAN! IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU REALLY WANT ME TO WATCH THIS FIGHT!" Papyrus exclaims, visibly pleased at the idea of Reimu wanting him to be part of anything in general.

"That's not the point," Reimu immediately says with an awkward smile.

"THERE IS NO NEED TO STATE THE OBVIOUS, HUMAN! I'M PERFECTLY AWARE OF THAT." Reimu cannot help but doubt his words. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD GLADLY SPECTATE YOUR EVERY EXPLOIT IN THE UNDERGROUND BEYOND THIS FIGHT!" _There you go, just as expected,_ Reimu thinks. "HOWEVER, I AM A VERY BUSY SKELETON. I HAVE VARIOUS DUTIES I MUST REGULARLY ATTEND TO! EVEN FOR YOU, I CANNOT NEGLECT THEM. PAINFUL AS THAT MAY BE FOR YOU, IT CAN'T BE HELPED. SO DON'T BE SAD, HUMAN. INSTEAD, JUST REMEMBER MY GREATNESS EVERY TIME YOU FIND YOURSELF IN PERIL! THAT WILL DEFINITELY BRING YOU GOOD LUCK!"

"Don't worry," Reimu deviously responds, "I won't need that any time soon." She then frowns, looking troubled. "Anyway, just stick around if you wanna watch or leave if you don't; it's that simple. As long as you don't get in the way of anything, you can do whatever you want." Seeing as that finishes all business Reimu had with Papyrus, she shifts her focus to Undyne, as if to further indicate their conversation is over.

"Who put YOU in charge of anything?" Undyne retorts, "If there's any risk of someone getting hurt over this, he's not staying and that's final! This isn't your turf, shrine maiden human! So I'M the one who sets everything straight around here! You got that?!"

Seeing as Undyne seems rather convicted and the argument isn't all that bad in Reimu's perspective, she shrugs. "Whatever you say."

"BY THE WAY, WHAT'S A 'SHRINE MAIDEN'?" Papyrus asks, seemingly curious.

Undyne immediately turns to Papyrus. "Only one of the strongest supernatural female warriors in human History! They take down all the weird demons while wearing impractical, red and white outfits!" _Outfits don't matter when you're just flying,_ Reimu mentally notes, _but it sure was a hassle before..._ "Geez, Papyrus, you should start reading up on the History books! How are you gonna take down a human if you don't know about them?! This is **COMMON SENSE,** dude!"

"YOU MAKE A FAIR POINT, UNDYNE! BESIDES, YOU TALK ABOUT THESE HISTORY BOOKS QUITE OFTEN! THOUGH I COULD STILL DEFEAT A HUMAN WITHOUT THE HELP OF THEM, THERE'S NO HARM IN ACQUIRING NEW KNOWLEDGE!" Papyrus proudly exclaims, though he still looks rather curious. "SO I'LL GET GOING, AND SET OUT TO RESEARCH HUMANITY! WHEN YOU SEE ME AGAIN, I'LL KNOW EVEN MORE THAN THE HUMAN HERSELF! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

With that, Papyrus dashes away from the area, content with his resolution. Reimu and Undyne momentarily watch this before facing each other with equally determined expressions. "Let's get this over with," Reimu says while assuming a fighting stance.

Undyne smirks. "You don't have to say THAT again! **_NGAAHHH!"_**

 **'*Light continues shining upon the battleground.'**

 _So we're continuing off of last time, huh?_ Reimu thinks with a confident smile. _Good._ Four ying-yang orbs materialize near Reimu... and multiply into many more. They are all simultaneously released towards Undyne, and hop and float about uncontrollably. Despite the first projectiles being spread out in such a manner, the amulets she throws afterwards home on their target accompanied by tiny, white orbs of energy; the pattern is akin to an arrow. By Reimu's standards, this attack isn't that terribly difficult, so she figures she'll have to start getting even more serious so as to quickly put an end to the duel.

81 HP is what Reimu takes from Undyne, and she prepares herself for the odd spear that changes her soul's color afterwards. However, it doesn't come. Instead, both the screens and her soul seem normal. Various small, white magical spear surge on random spots near where Reimu's soul resides, only to fly towards equally random directions. Some coincide with the soul's position, forcing it to float away from them, but it's overall an easy attack for Reimu. In the end, the only thing that does hit is the blue spear changing her soul's color to green.

"If you're holding back, you better stop," Reimu says, "I can't imagine you keep the peace in this place with attacks that weak." She regards Undyne only with a completely blunt frown of disappointment, as Reimu had previously expected a challenge as difficult as fighting herself; after all, their convictions seem similar. "I didn't think we were playing around in this battle. At least I'm not! **Dream Sign: Fantasy Dimensional Rift!"**

Already with a handful of amulets prepared, Reimu's position changes in the blink of an eye. Now to the left of Undyne, a semi-circle of amulets is thrown towards her. Then, to her right, Reimu appears instantly to throw the same type of attack. Even from behind, and from her original position, red amulets are spread outwards. From those four points in space, blue amulets are suddenly shot out in unison, flying at a much faster speed towards Undyne. "What the...?! **_NGAAHHH!"_**

Out of mere impulse, Undyne uses her spears to ward off the oncoming amulets from the left and right, which actually seems to stop them. However, the amulets stick to the spears. Undyne feels the spears almost burning through her armor and drops them to the ground, having immediately figured that had been the amulets' doing. Their spiritual energy had been transferred to the spears and disabled their power, something Reimu notes as expected. The spears fade from existence, leaving Undyne to scowl at this within the repeating pattern of amulets.

Her initial defense against the attack paid off slightly, for the damage inflicted was reduced. Even so, the spellcard took 121 HP from her, which is still a fairly high amount. "This battle is for everyone's hopes and dreams! It decides the freedom of all monsters! It's the LAST thing I'd do half-heartedly!" Undyne exclaims, "I don't care if you were just trying to throw me off, you're not getting away with spouting crap like THAT! Not without any payback from me! **THIS IS WHERE YOU'LL DIE, PUNK!"**

Reimu sees her soul confined to the smaller screen, and smirks. "We'll see about that!" A tiny, white arrow from the right; it flies towards Reimu's soul at great speeds. If Reimu weren't used to having to react to such attacks quickly, she might've sustained damage. However, she manages to face it on time. Another perfectly normal arrow comes from the opposite side, followed by a golden one. The very tiny, blue magical spear manages to block the white one before Reimu focuses on the golden arrow suddenly flying through the right side.

A set of a white and golden arrows fly from above, making Reimu repeat the process of facing the direction of the white arrow and immediately have her soul focus downwards, where the golden one would appear. Another set appears from the left, and from below; both are dodged in the same manner. However, immediately after the last set of arrows coming from the right, a row of five white arrows flies from above. The transition from focusing on the left to doing so on the upper part of the screen required less than a second of reaction time due to the arrows' speed and how early they appeared, so Reimu's attempt at blocking that is futile.

If not for the invincibility frames afterwards, Reimu would've had much more than 4 HP taken from her. The frown on Reimu's face is enough to correctly guess how displeased she is by having failed to react to the attack fast enough. _At least she did make it more challenging... but if I really wanted to win, maybe I shouldn't have provoked her._ However, what's done is done, so Reimu finds she now simply has to deal with the difficulty she wanted out of Undyne. She ends up smiling in a rather easygoing manner, knowing that she at least isn't going to face boredom.

She starts her attack, once again, with various ying-yang orbs. They are quite disorienting, so Reimu finds them great for making something much more difficult than it truly is. However, she throws needles out instead of amulets, combined with other red and white projectiles. Their speeds differ, which is another disorienting effect. It forces one to quickly think of what to focus on first. The technique inflicts damage equivalent to 77 HP.

Reimu focuses on the screen and attack ahead of her. She has riled up Undyne, so she is assuming the attacks will become more difficult from here on out. From above, right, down, left... Arrows fly clock-wise, one at the time at great speeds. Ironically, it seems like Undyne, too, uses tactics meant to disorient the opponent. Blocking the arrows requires great focus, as it's being done with the mind: if Reimu were to get distracted or still have a previous attack in mind while dodging another, the spear being controlled would not face the intended side. This is the only difficult part about Undyne's attacks, Reimu notes.

Their speed is increased because it's harder to focus completely on things that move fast, and golden arrows end up flying in the opposite direction when close enough to Reimu's soul because that would also disorient her. _You'd think she'd use attacks that rely on her physical strength, but I guess not..._ Reimu thinks after having blocked the last arrow from that attack, ending up unscathed. _Whatever!_ **"Light Spirit: Divine Spirit Orbs!"** Rather than ying-yang orbs, which would have also done a fair amount of damage, orbs of white light of a moderate size are summoned. They circle Reimu at first, only to then split into smaller orbs when they spread outwards. The smaller orbs continue splitting apart until a great amount of fairly tiny white orbs of light practically fill the room, their light almost blinding and their size making them slightly frustrating to focus on.

This Spellcard manages to take 128 HP from Undyne. Her next attack immediately starts with golden arrows: specifically with two coming from the left; Reimu makes sure to face the right. Two more come from above, but they're accompanied by two normal ones afterwards, which makes Reimu have to quickly have the golden ones blocked downwards and face up in a matter of seconds. She succeeds at this, and at the four consecutive times the pattern is used from different directions.

Her turn arrives. Homing amulets are thrown at Undyne right away, with ying-yang orbs following after them a few seconds later. The homing amulets are continuously shot, while only occasionally, other projectiles are spread out. The attack is simple enough, but it's simultaneously quite troublesome, as there are always amulets targeting the opponent specifically. The HP taken from Undyne with such a pattern is 87.

Afterwards, Reimu finds herself having to block a row of five arrows coming from below, and remaining in said position from the golden arrow flying down at her soul. Just as Reimu blocks it, another row of five normal arrows flies from the left. Despite Reimu having expected that pattern to repeat itself after she blocked that, arrows simply flew in a counterclock-wise order, one by one. While Reimu takes no damage, she does note that Undyne's attacks aren't too boring to experience.

She draws out a spellcard. **"Scattering Spirit: Fantasy Seal!"** It's a familiar spellcard, too. But slightly different when it comes to difficulty. **"Worn!"** 'Fantasy Seal', as a spellcard, has many varieties: this one is notable for its orbs of light not at all homing in on the target. Instead, it focuses on the grand orbs of light being shot out at almost blinding speeds in random directions. The fact that their size is considerable and that they end up bursting into various orbs if colliding into anything at all makes it quite overwhelming, and the speed is tricky to dodge. However, this is the easiest out of the two hardest variations Reimu possesses; it does consist of shooting at random, after all.

Despite that, its power is unquestionable, and the spellcard inflicts 172 damage. Undyne's glare is noticeably more intense now, and Reimu can assume that is due to the fact that she is currently winning the battle. **_"NGAAAHHHH!"_** Reimu's smile widens at this sight, and at the frustration seeping from Undyne. **_"DIE ALREADY, SHRINE MAIDEN!"_**

Reimu waves her Purification Rod in denial as if it were her finger. "Did you know?" She then brandishes it proudly. "Shrine maidens don't die!" She immediately shifts her focus back to the screen. A normal arrow flies from the right, and another from the left right afterwards. Left, right, left, right... The pattern continues on, the speed of the alternating arrows being fairly fast. However, the final ones are yellow, and flying from above or below in the same way as the normal ones previously were.

... It's admittedly a lot more challenging for Reimu, who barely managed to block off all those arrows, but she will never admit on such a thing. She smiles innocently. "At least not after three retries," Reimu says, as if to finish her previous statement. _Well, it really looks like she's not holding back..._ She sighs, but keeps her smile afterwards, as if that has only served to make her feel slightly more refreshed than before. _But that won't make any difference to me._

At once, Reimu throws both amulets and needles in a circle. Those circles move somewhat slowly, contrasting with the great amount of ying-yang orbs on the screen and the various homing amulets. The circles of needles and amulets come periodically, and increase in speed throughout the attack, which ends with 85 HP taken from Undyne. However, it seems she is grinning. "Well, I don't die in ANY situation! And I WON'T die here either! SO GET READY TO LOSE **RIGHT NOW!"**

Golden arrows are what Undyne starts with, making one by one fly clock-wise. This makes Reimu have to block them counterclock-wise, but the rest that come afterwards don't follow any easy order. Instead, they seem to quickly fly at random sides, which is also somewhat disorieting for Reimu. However, she blocks all of the arrows perfectly.

Reimu blinks multiple times, as if dizzy. _This is kind of getting to my head..._ She clears her throat. "I'd say you're the one going down in this fight," Reimu remarks. **"Migrating Spirits: Fantasy Seal!"** The orbs are already emerging as she shouts, **"Marred!"** The grand orbs of light home in on the opponent at slow speeds, surprisingly. At every passing second, they get closer and closer, to the point of cornering their target; the orbs are slow to make it seem easy. To add to this variant, circles of smaller orbs of light are shot out continuously, and they fly at great speeds to contrast with the others. The destructive effects of the greater orbs of light are still present, though the fact that they get larger the closer they are to the target is entirely new, and another way to easily corner others.

This simple yet powerful attack takes 190 HP from Undyne. While she still looks perfectly fine, Reimu notices her movements being slower than before when flipping over her spear in irritation. Her breathing is also audible now; she seems to be weakened. Even so, Undyne herself is still standing straight with an angered, though convicted expression; Reimu frowns. "If you're at your limit, just admit you've lost."

... This predictably outrages Undyne. "AT MY LIMIT?! **HA!"** Even her shouting sounds strained. "I'm just getting started!" Reimu crosses her arms. Knowing she has to bear through Undyne's turn regardless of whether she's weakened or not, Reimu focuses on her soul for the time being.

The yellow arrows she has to block are noticeably slower than in previous attacks. The pattern is the same as the last attack as well, except that some of the arrows are normal as if to throw Reimu off. Either way, Reimu can only watch Undyne's turn end and assume the stronger attacks she was using were actually overexertion on Undyne's part. Reimu narrows her eyes. _She's going that far, huh..._

"Give up," Reimu says, "One more hit from me, and you won't even be able to move. If anything, it's already surprising you're still moving. But this battle's already over."

 **'*You spare Undyne.'**

"I'm going to win," Reimu states with a neutral expression. She is not even assuming a fighting stance anymore, and doesn't seem like she'll do so any time soon.

That is the last straw for Undyne. **_"NGAAAHHHH!"_** Reimu is unfazed. "AS IF! With everyone's hopes and dreams riding on me, I can't lose! I'll win! No matter what, **I WILL WIN THIS BATTLE!"** The intensity of her anger is enough to make her slowly conjure a magical spear, though the time it took for it to appear is also a hint at the fact that Undyne is close to death. "Because monsters... can be just as determined as humans! **AND I'LL PROVE THAT TO YOU NOW!"**

The first arrows are amazingly fast. Said fast attacks come in rows of five in practically random directions, though at least the arrows aren't golden. This means Reimu isn't as disoriented, but blocking all the arrows is still somewhat tiresome mentally. However, she notes the speed slowly decreasing; after a few seconds, the rows are of four rather than five arrows.

"... **NOW!"** Only rows of three arrows are flying towards Reimu's soul at this point. The speed starts becoming rather normal. **_"NOW, DARN IT...!"_** Despite the tone of her voice becoming louder, the amount of arrows only seems to be decreasing. _It wasn't a good idea for her to try to keep up with me in terms of power. The battle's outcome was obvious from the beginning, huh..._ Blocking the arrows doesn't even require that much focus now that they move towards Reimu so slowly.

The challenge Reimu posed to Undyne was ultimately her downfall. The attacks used to attempt to win against Reimu are far too powerful for Undyne, and far too tiresome in the normal state she is in. **_"NOW!"_** The only thing left to damage Reimu is a single white arrow slowly coming towards her soul. It's swiftly blocked, and no projectiles appear for a moment. Undyne's expression is of an intensity far too extreme for the likes of Reimu, conveying anger and frustration in spades.

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

... Reluctantly, Undyne ends her turn. At this sight, Reimu sighs. "Are you gonna keep going? Because I'm pretty sure I've already won." Reimu only seems troubled, as if unfazed by Undyne's raw emotion and determination. Naturally, she can see Undyne's state of mind clearly, but finds it better not to stress on it.

"I won't give up..." Undyne spitefully mutters, surprisingly quiet now.

Despite this change, Reimu keeps a neutral demeanor. "Huh... Is that so? Well..." She furrows her eyebrows and immediately starts dashing towards Undyne. "Too bad! If you're not going to give up, I'll just have to make you!" At the sudden change of tactics, Undyne shows herself somewhat surprised, but attempts to defend the incoming hit with her magical spear. Expecting this, Reimu presses two amulets onto the spear and sees them canceling out its energy. Within the reaction time of Undyne to this action, Reimu already has her leg raised all the way up to Undyne's face, letting out a battle cry.

Her kick connects with Undyne's cheek. In a normal situation, it would've simply made Undyne flinch a little, but in the weakened and thrown off state she is in and with the force of an experienced shrine maiden put into the kick, she ends up collapsing. The ground shakes a little from the weight of Undyne and her armor, and while she immediately attempts to stand up, she is only faced with a screen Reimu is attentively reading.

 **'*You won!'**

These are the words written on it, and it quickly fades away. This sinks in for Undyne only after a few moments of glaring at Reimu.

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

The battle is over, and Reimu... is the winner. "What are you staring at me for? The fight's over," Reimu says, "I win. Looks like my burdens were bigger." She smiles. "Not that it wasn't obvious." She seems completely casual now that she won the battle. Meanwhile, Undyne is still glaring at her.

"... So, are you just going to lie down there, or what?" Reimu puts a hand on her hip. "You'd think there would be some last words from someone as cocky as you, or maybe even an excuse. Guess not, huh?" Undyne simply stands up at a rather slow pace. "Are you sure you can even walk? You weirdos apparently can't fly either, so that must be rough for you."

Reimu still gets no response; her frown deepens. "Look, if you're so mad, just rest up and ask for a rematch or something. For all I care, I won fair and square. You can't argue against that." She knows Undyne is listening, which makes her slightly more annoyed at the lack of a reply. Undyne even turns around and starts slowly walking away, without uttering a single word.

"But you better not be thinking of throwing away your own reponsibilities! If you really value what you're doing, losing the drive to do it... is unforgivable!" Undyne stops walking.

Reimu smiles. "And that's just how it works," she states, "With our lot, I mean."

... Undyne turns her head to Reimu, her lone eye glaring intently at her. However, even at such a moment, Undyne does not utter a single word. After the humiliation of defeat, saying anything is almost impossible for Undyne, especially when the stakes were that high. With that, Undyne leaves the room.

Despite Undyne's lack of a response, Reimu's easygoing smile widens. She knows her words reached her. "Now that was some youkai." She stretches her arms and sighs.

Then, she finally takes the time to look at her surroundings. Craters, spear marks, a moderate amount of rubble... Signs of battle litter the strangely-lit room. Reimu reminds herself of the incident she was going to solve in Gensokyo. _If Marisa's solved it, she probably had to fight harder battles than this one..._ She frowns. _That is, depending on whether she did solve it..._

 _She better have. Or else..._ Reimu smirks and brandishes her Purification Rod. "When I return, I'll not only beat the culprit up, but Marisa, too!"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

 _Out of everyone I know, I could only think of her,_ Marisa thinks as she lands before the somewhat mystifying grounds of the Myoren Temple. _But if I knew where Suika was, I would've probably talked to her instead._ However, Suika was not at the shrine when Marisa arrived, meaning that she could be anywhere; she surely isn't going to search through the whole Youkai Mountain for her. Instead, Marisa decided to see someone who would definitely be in a certain area that could also find people for her.

After all, it's an admittedly tough job to look for a single person all over Gensokyo. Besides, asking around is also fairly impractical. With that in mind, Marisa is now going up the stairs of the Myoren Temple, only sticking out because of her outfit. Though youkai seem to lurk around, a few humans are also present; Marisa can't help but feel sorry for those people (as they are easy prey for youkai). However, she focuses on the incident at hand and enters the temple.

The presences she is faced with are none other than Shou's, and a few other humans'. She seems to be talking to them with a calm smile, only to notice Marisa in the area. While slightly surprised, Shou makes sure to remain composed: she points at a room in the temple, bows slightly as if apologizing and momentarily stares at the group of three humans walking away. Using her spear as a walking stick, Shou approaches Marisa. "How unexpected to see someone such as yourself visiting. Well, you are welcome regardless. Do you have any business with Hijiri, perhaps?"

Her speech is dignified and proud, though devoid of arrogance; it only makes Marisa's greatly casual demeanor stand out all the more. "Actually, I wanted to talk with your mouse familiar. There's a little favor I wanna ask of her," Marisa explains. "I mean, she can find stuff, right?"

"You want to see Nazrin...?" While she doesn't look visibly surprised, her tone implies this perfectly. "She isn't present at the moment. In fact, this isn't where she resides to begin with."

Marisa raises an eyebrow skeptically. "Seriously? Isn't she one of you guys though? Why wouldn't she be around?" _Just when I thought I wasn't going to struggle finding anyone, she just had to not live here..._

"She mainly has ties with Bishamonten, and consequentially, me. Nazrin is only at the Myoren Temple if I call for her," Shou replies, "Instead, she takes residence near Muenzuka."

"Does she?" Marisa looks at Shou curiously. "Huh, I didn't even know that. Guess I wasted time coming over, then."

However, before Marisa could say proper parting words, Shou asks, "What exactly were you going to ask of Nazrin? I assume you wanted her services to find something you lost, but if you're going as far as to have her look for it, it must be something valuable."

"Oh, it's not something," Marisa says, "It's _someone._ And I'd say she's pretty valuable for the balance of all of Gensokyo." Despite the dramatic connotations, Marisa still delivers her response in a nonchalant manner, which Shou finds confusing.

"Someone...? And who could this person be?"

"Well..." Marisa smiles wryly. "What if I told you it was Reimu?"

 **. . .**

Shou seems unamused. "I would think you have a very incomprehensible sense of humor. If you simply plan on being in the way of our work, I will have to drive you away, for the record."

"Harsh," Marisa comments. "I was telling the truth, you know? Reimu's missing. No one's seen her at all, so I'm trying to find her."

Shou narrows her eyes. "I offer little tolerance for your antics at this moment. With the recent incident, everyone in the temple has been busy reassuring the masses passing by. In fact, Hijiri would have liked to be involved with the diplomatic affairs the incident would spawn to guarantee the integration of the new youkai population, but she is currently too busy to even do that. As refreshing as a duel could be right now, I have no interest in wasting my time, so I request you leave immediately."

"That's even harsher." Marisa glances to the side. "Kanako's probably going to take care of the diplomacy stuff if you don't make a move, by the way; I'd tell that to Byakuren if I were you." She winks at Shou, who seems unfazed at the gesture and more focused on her words. "You've really gotta hear me out though. Reimu's missing, no doubt about it. I wouldn't be looking for her otherwise, much less go up to this place to get Nazrin."

"Nazrin cannot even use her powers to search for humans in the first place," Shou responds, "Your trip was meaningless. That is, if you aren't lying. I find it doubtful that someone strong enough to defeat Hijiri would go missing like that."

"Wait, Nazrin can't look for people?" Marisa questions, surprised. "Then this trip really was meaningless. Crud." _I didn't want to go here for nothin'._

"Even so, I wouldn't give up all that easily in your shoes." Both Marisa and Shou turn towards the source of the female voice. It sounds somewhat like an old woman's from the way of speaking, but the actual tone could easily suggest someone younger. This doesn't surprise Marisa and Shou when they see Mamizou before them, adjusting her glasses with a sly smirk. "You don't need the mouse to find anybody. Really, finding a person's as simple as setting your sights somewhere and seeing if they're there: sounds like a pain in hindsight, looking through every nook and cranny of a place like Gensokyo, but anything's a pain alone, and gets done faster by many. At least, isn't that how it always works?"

Mamizou's large, fuzzy tail sways from one side to the other while she steps closer to Marisa and Shou, pipe in hand. "Depends," Marisa replies, "Some folks aren't cooperative."

"You can say that," Mamizou dismissively states, "but caring about folks who don't want to cooperate's more of a waste of time than looking for Reimu yourself. You've got to have your eyes on the goal here: if you gather enough cooperative folks, looking for a pesky little shrine maiden will be a cinch for you. When it comes to youkai, you can string along a few who've got too much free time on their hands; either that, or youkai who've got a grudge and wanted to take her down themselves. Reimu's got pals everywhere and anywhere in these parts: you could get yourself a search party faster than these Myouren Temple people can take care of everything they've got piling up on their shoulders."

"We are working rather swiftly, in my eyes," Shou counters, "More than you should be, at least."

Mamizou shrugs. "Doesn't matter. What does, is getting people to look for Reimu. As far as a newcomer like me knows, she's what holds Gensokyo together. It wouldn't be all that great to have her gone for too long, and I can confirm it's not just Marisa's imagination telling us she's missing." Then, as though reminiscing, Mamizou narrows her eyes, making it seem as though she is squinting. "I went to that mountain a little while ago; had a chat with the mountain's monsters. None of them even heard of Reimu's name. With an incident as big as this one, you'd expect the shrine maiden to at least take a little peek at the sudden mountain showing up in Gensokyo, but she hasn't."

"So what, you're gonna help out?" Marisa asks, admittedly curious.

"A bit, sure," Mamizou responds, "But I wouldn't want to steal the spotlight from you, now would I?" She winks. "You're the one gathering most of the weird folk too bored to decline; the reins are all on you. So have fun with that, and ask around. You'll have Reimu with you in no time once you get everyone assembled."

"If you are indeed planning on gathering a search party, I'll go ahead and decline the offer for the entirety of the temple," Shou interjects, "I'm sure I've told you why. Seeing as Mamizou is taking care of this matter, I will take my leave and aid Hijiri. I trust you won't cause any unnecessary uproar in the temple." With those calm, collected words, Shou walks away, into the same room she has previously pointed the group of three she was speaking with towards.

"... And you've heard her," Mamizou says, "Myoren Temple's off-limits. Don't be too blue about it, though. They aren't the only folks you can nag." With a small hop backwards, her wooden sandals clank against the even floor. "And those you can... Well, you'll have to get them yourself. Reins are yours, after all. Anyway, I'll keep my eyes peeled for red-white color schemes." She waves at Marisa. "See you around."

Mamizou walks off towards an unknown direction at a relaxed pace, without looking back. "See ya!" Marisa has no one to talk to now, but she feels rather motivated. _A search party, huh... Sounds interesting. I'm in!_ Marisa dashes off of the temple, as it no longer has anything to offer her... until she suddenly hears a faint chuckle. "Who's there?"

She looks around, but finds no signs of anyone suspicious (beyond clearly suspicious youkai); Marisa assumes it was just from someone talking in the area. She shrugs. _Whatever._ "Hey there."

A flickering ball of light hovers in front of Marisa. "Woah, it talks?"

"Who knows?" it responds, seemingly amused.

"You're speaking right now, so I think I know," Marisa says, "unless I'm going insane. Which wouldn't be all that surprising."

The ball of light laughs. "Maybe you are! Wouldn't that be just great? If you were insane all along, and the shrine maiden was actually safe and sound..."

"That wouldn't be so great for me though. I mean, it wouldn't be surprising, but it would still suck. Only Reimu would get anything out of it." Marisa shakes her head, as if to deny something immoral. "Pretty sure that's unfair."

"Well... Would it even things out if Reimu's actually missing and you're not insane?" the ball tentatively asks, still somewhat amused as it circles Marisa.

"Not at all." Marisa smiles deviously. "But works for me! So, are you gonna reveal your identity or do I have to cause that 'unnecessary uproar' I'm not supposed to cause?" She crosses her arms, patiently waiting for the ball to disappear.

... It does, and a certain youkai is replaced by it. "And here I thought I could still have some fun with you!" Nue exclaims with a smirk. "It would've been a blast seeing you slowly go insane."

"Oh, definitely." Marisa nods twice. "I would've blasted you like no tomorrow."

"And miss out on getting your first search party member? I doubt that," Nue counters, "Besides, I don't think you'd be able to blast me any time soon."

"That's weird. Why would someone like you wanna look for Reimu?" Marisa willfully ignores the part about Nue not being blasted like no tomorrow, as she finds it obvious it's the other way around.

"Scaring humans might be entertaining, but if Mamizou's in on something, it's because that's where all the _real_ fun's at. I'd get scolded for that 'unnecessary uproar' thing anyway, just like you." Nue chuckles. "So I have nothing to lose! And so do you. The more the merrier, wasn't it? That's not my style at all, but I can manage something. I've got my share of connections, you know? So I can call those along... or make random youkai join in on this thing. That sounds like an interesting challenge. I'll see you later!"

Nue assumes an undefined form once more, seemingly ready to leave. "I'm sure you won't be disappointed," Nue adds before flying away. _She's helpin' out, huh... I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing._

She shrugs. _Oh well._ Now left alone, Marisa thoughtfully looks towards the sky. "Now, where should I go first...?"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"When four Bridge Seeds allign in the water..." Reimu reads scriptures carved into the stone walls out loud, "They will sprout..." She stares at the scriptures for a while and crosses her arms. "Huh..."

... She then looks towards the side, where a sizable gap of water is blocking her path. _So it's a puzzle,_ Reimu deducts. "Ugh..." _More puzzles?_ Reimu walks over to the edge of the water coursing through. Looking towards the left makes her see the 'Bridge Seeds' referred to by the scriptures. _I guess I could allign them..._

Reimu smiles in a sly manner. _But I don't want to._ She flies over the water and lands with ease. _These aren't Papyrus's puzzles anyway; I don't have to solve them._ Reimu shrugs as she decides to move forward... and finds something akin to an incredibly muscular horse with a strange fish tail rather than hoofs; it seems to be floating. "Flexing contest? ;)"

 **'*Aaron flexes in.'**

Indeed, Aaron is flexing at the moment. Reimu looks at Aaron blankly. "Not interested!" She throws a fair amount of amulets at him without hesitation, damaging him greatly.

"You don't have to be like that ;)" The projectiles shot at Reimu's soul are in the shape of water drops, though they are definitely meant to be sweat drops instead (something Reimu is blissfully unaware of). Since they seem to fall randomly, Reimu has a far too easy time dodging them. This makes her think of how wildly different this battle is to the one she had with Undyne a while ago. _I guess she really is strong in this place's standards..._

When Aaron's turn finishes, Reimu simply spares him. "You all should stop bothering people passing by if you don't want to get hurt!" she exclaims, noting that most monsters are rather intrusive. "You've been warned!"

"I was just trying to be friendly ;)" Despite 'winking', Aaron is teary-eyed, something Reimu doesn't bother questioning before setting off to the next area awaiting her. She is greeted by more water, having to cross a bridge. Next to said bridge is a sign that piques Reimu's curiosity. She floats near the sign and reads:

'Congratulations! You failed the puzzle.'

... Confused, Reimu simply flies towards the end of the bridge. Strange, glowing, blue mushrooms can be found on the ground ahead of her, which Reimu momentarily regards. _Marisa would probably love some of these._ However, Reimu does not make the effort to pick and hold on to them.

Instead, she finds more Bridge Seeds in front of her as she walks and another sizable gap created by coursing water. She can see a bell-like object and more scriptures, but she assumes that has something to do with the puzzle she clearly won't solve so Reimu decides to simply fly over the gap without sparing such things a glance. _This could've at least been more original._

Reimu reaches a passage to a darker room, though blue sparkles of unknown origin can be seen from afar, floating about. Glowing scriptures can also be seen before entering, which read:

'WISHING ROOM'

 _Wishing room?_ Reimu mentally questions before stepping inside. The darker lighting seems to be compensated by the brilliant blue crystals shining on the room's ceiling, as if twinkling stars. She finds herself staring at this beautiful sight for a moment, and smiles. _I can see why it's got a name like that._

Around her, she can see flowers like the one she saw in the same area Sans was at. At a lonely corner is an apparatus Reimu is sure she encountered in Kourindou at least once, though she has no idea of what to use it for. It's structured like some sort of cone with supporting structures to make sure it stays at that precise height. _I really should ask Mr. Rinnosuke what all that stuff's for whenever I see anything new._ Instead, she ends up asking about even stranger objects and forgetting the others completely (or not caring enough to ask more questions at that point).

However, the flowers almost seem like they are making whispering noises. While that doesn't impress her (as it's not that strange in her daily life), she makes her way towards one of them; it truly looks like it's whispering something. Curious about the beautiful flower, Reimu lightly pokes it.

"Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong!" the flower suddenly shouts.

"Woah!" Reimu reacts, taking a step back as if the flower could have potentially attacked her.

"The king will prove that." The flower becomes silent afterwards, as if it had never spoken. _What was it even saying?_ Reimu thinks, confused. She decides to poke it with her Purification Rod.

"Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong! The king will prove that."

Reimu pokes it again.

"Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong! The king will prove that."

... And again.

"Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong! The king will prove that."

 _So it just says the same thing over and over?_ "That's lame," Reimu mutters before giving it another light poke.

"That's lame."

 _It repeated what I said?!_ Reimu is mometarily thrown aback by this, but assumes right afterwards that the flower repeats what it hears, like an echo. The flower's aqua petals faintly glow within the dark room, and slightly sway with the gentle breeze coming from the room Reimu had previously been in. "So it's just some weird echo flower, or something..."

 **. . .**

Reimu realizes she said that out loud. She touches the flower.

"So it's just some weird echo flower, or something..."

"Yup," Reimu utters, "Just a weird echo flower." _I bet Marisa would also love this._ She can already imagine Marisa using the flower to prank someone: the more she thinks about it, the more Reimu can also see fairies flocking towards this sort of flower as well. _I wonder what the others have to say... This one had someone talking about everyone wishing for something._

 _And about the king, too... Whoever that is. He must have at least some idea of how to cross the barrier._ While Reimu would usually just try to move on as fast as she can, she decides to give a higher priority to seeing what the flowers have to say. After all, those are comments from actual monsters, who could know something. Besides, Reimu is admittedly curious. _Actually, I might just hear random monsters' wishes instead... I mean, this is the Wishing Room for a reason._

... Even so, Reimu doesn't particularly care for privacy when it comes to others. _It's their fault for not noticing the flowers,_ she deviously thinks before approaching the flower she had missed, to the left. It's as if cowering, rooted in the corner. In general, something about these echoing flowers suggests melancholy, further intensified by the room's lighting and overall atmosphere of this mystifying area.

"A long time ago, monsters would whisper their wishes to the stars in the sky. If you hoped with all your heart, your wish would come true. Now, all we have are these sparkling stones on the ceiling..."

Reimu looks up at the ever-brilliant stones. "They're pretty, but if I had to see this every day, I'd probably get bored..." Further to the right than the first flower she came into contact with are two others, as if a pair; they are the closest to the familiar yet unknown apparatus. After making her way towards one of them, Reimu touches it.

"C'mon, Sis! Make a wish!"

The voice seems insistent, though cheerful. Reimu briefly wonders how the flower can perfectly imitate someone's tone of voice, but quickly dismisses the question as she has witnessed phenomena far more outrageous than this. She assumes the other flower might have something connected to the words of that monster, so she pokes it from afar, using her Purification Rod to do so.

"I wish my sister and I will see the real stars someday..."

 _How long have these youkai been sealed for?_ And more importantly, why have they been sealed? Most of the youkai existent seem to be weak and/or avoid violence, so she finds it strange that they had to be sealed as if they were an imminent threat. _Maybe they mellowed down with time... Or not. If anything, that seems really unlikely._ Youkai will always be youkai.

Reimu shrugs. At a corner in the right is the last flower to hear, she notes. _It might have just been a waste of time checking all these flowers,_ she thinks before touching the last one.

"Ah... Seems my horoscope is the same as last week's..."

Reimu stares at the flower blankly for a moment. "Well, this sure was pointless..."

... Reimu pokes the flower.

"Well, this sure was pointless..."

With a contented smile, Reimu starts walking towards the completely suspicious wall at the far back of the room, wanting to know what exactly is its purpose. Besides, she hasn't found any exit from this room, which is rather troublesome. When she is standing mere centimeters from it, Reimu clearly sees the differences in color and consistency from the normal, dark walls of the room and decides to touch it out of curiosity, figuring it might trigger something.

Her intuition is right, as expected, since the 'wall' ascends like a door of sorts, strengthening the already present breeze. Reimu notes the difference between the stone floor of the Wishing Room and the wooden planks making up the floor she is currently stepping on, as she has set out into the next area. She is faced with glowing scriptures stretching through the dark stone wall, though the rest of her surroundings are water and wood. Despite the presence of scriptures, there seems to be no puzzle in sight.

Due to this, Reimu decides she might as well read what has been written on the walls. In bigger letters, the first of the scriptures she comes across reads out:

'The War of Humans and Monsters.'

Reimu immediately takes interest in these scriptures. _They might say something about the barrier!_ She takes a step to the side to read what comes next.

'Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed like they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the soul of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a single human soul.'

Reimu furrows her eyebrows in utter confusion. _What?_ It goes without saying that youkai have always been greatly stronger than the average human, as only humans as special as Reimu can even stand a chance against them. Furthermore, it has always been established that the fear of youkai from the humans is precisely what fuels said apparitions. If humans possessed no fears or superstitions, youkai, or at least those Reimu is aware of, would have never existed. Wanting to get to the bottom of this supposed nonsense, Reimu continues reading:

'But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their soul. Its power allows it to persist outside of the human body, even after death.'

 _So these youkai think humans become ghosts because we have powerful souls?_ Technically, certain types of ghosts are youkai as well. _I don't think it's that... But this still isn't making much sense._

'If a monster defeats a human, they can takes its soul. A monster with a human soul... A horrible beast with unfathomable power.'

Reimu narrows her eyes. She would have kept reading, but there is nothing else beyond this. Next to the last scpritures is an eerie drawing of a beast: its shape is vague, but its size is tremendous. _Were these youkai sealed because they all have the power to become this strong if they absorb a human soul? That wouldn't be too surprising. This mentions a war, so humans probably warred against the youkai and won... somehow._ How humans could beat hordes of youkai is greatly questionable to Reimu.

 _Now that I think about it, Undyne said something about the king becoming a god if he got my soul. Mine would be the seventh out of six souls..._ Reimu turned towards what seems to be nothing but water. However, upon closer inspection, a section of wooden planks seems to be floating directly above the water, connected with each other. It's tied to this area, which is why it isn't drifting off. Seeing as land is visible from afar, one can assume this is a means of transportation towards that other side. _Just how strong would that Asgore youkai become? Apparently, he'd become strong enough to break the barrier, since that's what Undyne said he'd do._

 _I know the barrier's really powerful, so it really makes me wonder how strong those souls can make him if it's enough to break something like that._ Reimu steps closer to the water, seemingly confident. _Either way, anything as suspicious as that can only be bad news! So I'll get to the castle, beat him up, and ask him how to cross the barrier! Then it'll all be alright!_ Reimu would have flown high up, but the ceiling is rather low so she finds herself close to the water while floating towards the other side.

At least Reimu is fast enough not to make the journey too awkward on her own end. She softly lands on sturdy wooden planks: such a floor stretches out as far as her eyes can see. This seems to be a fairly long path to walk on...

 **'*Woshua shuffles up.'**

"Huh?" Reimu looks towards the side, where she sees a bizarre, yet not intimidating creature. Its body seems to resemble some sort of machine filled with water encased in glass. Within that water is a bird, seemingly bathing in it. On what one would assume to be its hands, there is a moderately-sized ball of sorts with a blank expression etched on it.

"Wosh u soul," Woshua mutters without hesitation, as if uninterested. Its movements indicate some form of eagerness, however.

At the sudden intrusion and strange words, Reimu frowns irritatedly. "I don't wanna hear that from a youkai!" Predictably, a few rows of amulets are sent Woshua's way, and Reimu can already see where this is going: like all battles seem to function, she'll spare her opponent after weakening them greatly, as that is how to win. However, she has to bear through Woshua's turn before doing so, for some reason. _Why can't I just spare them right away?_

The only projectile that appears is in the shape of soap: it moves at a fast speed, towards very unpredictable directions. Even so, due the fact that Reimu only has to deal with dodging one of these strange projectiles, she has no difficulty dodging it. If anything, she takes extra care not to have her soul collide with the sparkles left by it, as Reimu assumed they could be dangerous as well.

Woshua seems to be frantically removing the amulets off of its body, as if they were unclean. Meanwhile, Reimu spares him with a troubled expression. "How clean I am is just your opinion," Reimu says, "Everyone's cleanliness isn't any of your business. Especially if it's got anything to do with souls. That's a Yama's job, you know?"

Woshua's movements are noticeably slower, and it takes a moment to respond. "Your soul is... filthy."

Reimu scowls. "Isn't anyone's? If you think you're that much cleaner, you're just a hypocrite!" Reimu turns towards the path again, and begins walking. However, Reimu feels a need to add to her words. She turns her head to an eerily still Woshua. "You better have learned your lesson from this!"

With that, Reimu no longers turns back to face Woshua. Instead, he is left to process Reimu's words in the slight state of shock he is currently in while vacantly watching Reimu walk through the long, wooden path... The fact that he may not be perfectly clean starts haunting him, so he feels more panicked than anything now.

Meanwhile, Reimu is walking at a casual pace, taking in the fairly pleasant, yet slightly melancholic surroundings. After a while, she is faced with very tall vegetation, which she does not feel like trudging through. Though the ceiling is low, Reimu decides to float above the vegetation regardless.

"Y-yo, wasn't Undyne fighting you...?!" At the sudden voice, Reimu stops middair and looks down. Spotting nothing, she sets her sights on the other side of the fairly short track of vegetation to see if she can find the familiar voice's source.

"You're the small youkai from before..." Reimu mutters as she stares at their stature and yellow presence. She lands near the monster child, who takes a few steps away from her. "She was fighting me, alright." Reimu smiles proudly. "But I won in the end."

"You won against Undyne...?" The tiny monster seems as surprised as they are skeptical. "No way! Undyne's really strong, and beats up all the bad guys! She can't lose!"

Reimu's smile does not falter from these arguments, which only leaves the monster child with little confidence in their words. They are only trying to seem strong by holding their ground, as they know someone Undyne would fight is definitely some sort of dangerous monster. However, this is admittedly difficult when facing a shrine maiden so confident in her own abilities and with the surprising news that someone as badass as Undyne had lost against Reimu. "Well, I'm also pretty strong. And I beat up all the bad guys where I come from," Reimu counters, "So the outcome was obvious from the beginning."

"Yo, you can't beat up bad guys while you're a bad guy. Undyne can't be one of the bad guys either, so you've got to be one." However, wouldn't the good guys always win? It still confused them how Reimu could win against a hero.

"I'm a total good guy," Reimu insists with a smirk on her face. "I'm the Shrine Maiden of Paradise who keeps the peace wherever she goes, you know? She's the one who picked a fight with me anyway."

The monster child can only regard Reimu's words as utterly confusing. "Shrine Maiden of Paradise? What's a shrine maiden? I've never heard of that before... But it sounds kind of cool!" _They don't even know what a shrine maiden is?_

... Reimu's smirk widens. "That's because it _is_ cool," Reimu explains, "Shrine maidens fly across the sky and shoot all the bad guys away without mercy, in the name of justice!"

"Yo, so they're like super heroes?!" The child's eyes almost shine from excitement at the prospect of a 'shrine maiden'. Reimu nods at them, but before she can say anything, all of their excitement seems to immediately dwindle down as they say, "But wait, how can that be true if you beat up one of the good guys?"

The easygoing demeanor of Reimu greatly contrasts with the child's inquisitive tone, but none note this at all. "I beat her up because she was in the way; no hard feelings about that. Good guys or not, I can't keep up the peace if they're blocking me."

"Yo, that doesn't sound like justice at all..." the monster child admits in slight fear of Reimu.

"It's the only justice that works, so it's justice!" Reimu proudly exclaims. "I've been doing that for years, and it's always worked out fine in the end. If you've got a problem, you better not start anything fishy." Reimu brandishes her Purification Rod, making the monster child take a few more steps back from her. "Well, I'm out of here." _Any more than this will be a waste of time._

"Y-yo, wait!" However, Reimu stops moving from that shouting, curious as to why the child would even want to talk to her further if they are so scared of her. "Undyne is going to be okay... right?"

Reimu turns to them. "Count on that," she replies, "I might be around for now, but _she's_ the actual peace-keeper of this place, not me. She's got to at least be up by the time I'm gone. But if she doesn't come back, that's your problem."

... The monster child manages a small smile, as Reimu's words mostly imply Undyne is alive and will return. "All right!"

With that, Reimu returns to walking towards the path ahead of her for good. "Yo, b-by the way! If you're really a super hero, you better beat up all the bad guys while Undyne's hurt! Because if you don't, it means you're a liar! A... mean, liar, yo! And I... won't forgive you at all!" It seems the monster child attempted to sound somewhat intimidating with the last sentences, but failed miserably. Even so, the attempt does warrant a smile out of Reimu.

She waves at them from behind. "You don't have to tell me that!" Reimu hears the sound of dashing footsteps getting farther the more she walks onwards, and assumes they come from the monster child running in the opposite direction. _A super hero, huh... Weird that a youkai's acting like one. These youkai in general are weird; they don't behave like normal youkai at all. Besides, those scriptures are still confusing..._

However, at least one thing is certain for Reimu, as always. "But as long as I beat up the bad guys, I'll figure out a way." With such a perspective and an easygoing stance, Reimu can only feel confident in herself and her drive to return home despite her ignorance.

... From behind her, a golden flower smirks.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

And finally, it is done! With Flowey, too ^^' He's always watching, 'cause he's your best stalker— I mean friend. It took me literally a month to write this chapter, just wow... 0.0 In general, I took this much time because I had no plan for this chapter: when it comes to Waterfall, I'm literally going with the flow, no pun intended (surpringly enough). When you basically don't have any plans, you have to make them up on the spot, and that makes writing anything pretty slow. Besides, I usually take a trillion years to write an action scene... Which I didn't skip this time, by the way! See? I told you I wouldn't do that!

I mean, I set up the duel to be such a big deal that it would be blasphemous to skip through it, so I found myself with no choice but to write the whole thing. Having to keep everything fresh when you more or less have a limited number of spellcards and patterns is very, very difficult... or just pressuring in general. Whatever the case, Undyne lost, even though Reimu lost to Papyrus at first. That's just shameful lol but Undyne's really easy in my opinion so I couldn't see Reimu losing the battle. Besides, she's only challenging when her attacks incorporate a lot of golden arrows or in the Genocide Route, so yeah... Reimu would win.

However, I have to admit that some of the patterns I made Undyne use are pretty OP 0.0 I used that to my advantage to make Undyne tired from having over-exerted herself in such a way to keep up with Reimu's strength (completely improvised, by the way), mostly because Undyne's super determined and won't give up her fight no matter what her HP is. So I made Reimu be able to knock her out (somewhat; she was still conscious) and had Undyne face the fact that she lost: Reimu isn't the best of people to cheer others up ^^' Either way, I tried my best to get Undyne as in-character as possible, especially at the moment she lost.

Undyne is, in many ways, a great character: she is just as hilarious as she is serious, as you can see her being reckless just as much as you can see her thinking of others' safety; she takes her duties seriously. Reimu can relate a bit, so yeah... Reimu and Undyne, man. They're like two sides of the same coin, except Undyne's really hot-headed and intense while Reimu's easygoing; just sayin'. Anyway, Undyne is an amazing character when it comes to all these ranges of emotions, so I wanted to portray her as best as I could in the fight, and afterwards. Papyrus is a great character too, for example, but we all know Hilarious Papyrus = Best Papyrus so he's not great in the same way Undyne is (Papyrus is my favorite character, by the way).

Papyrus wasn't all that jolly at the beginning of this chapter from having admitted to Undyne he failed at something, but when he did cheer up, it was great. I want him to light up a scene and make you smile in the same way you smiled and cheered up in the game, because that's what Papyrus does best. Besides, Undyne is also great comedy XD They're both hilarious, intense dorks! I also managed to write a whole chapter without Sans, woo-hoo! I mean, I love Sans, but he can't just be everywhere: I felt like I had a lot of Sans in this story, and not enough of other characters so this is good for me.

... You can never have enough Touhou characters though. Speaking of that, dat feel when Marisa goes to the Myouren Temple, but not to meet Byakuren! ^^' It's said Nazrin can't look for living beings (though it seems to be a joke on cats, I'll still take it literally) and that she lives in a self-built hut near Muenzuka, but Marisa wouldn't know that so she went to the temple. And found Shou. You know Shou? You should, because she's the stage 5 boss of Undefined Fantastic Object. She's so underrated, in my opinion: do people ever write Shou? I've literally never seen people write her; not even the official manga have her talk (she just cameos a bunch of times). However, she's described as dignified and composed, but lets out more of her emotions when around those close to her: I tried my best to portray someone as dignified as some sort of Bishamonten statue. Besides, the game dialogue suggests she's pretty polite, so... yeah, dignified.

But as much as I like Shou and think she's underrated, we've all got to admit that Mamizou stole the spotlight the moment she showed up in that scene. My God, I had so much fun writing everything about Mamizou, it's honestly amazing. In general, Mamizou speaks like an old lady and is sort of on the friendly side, but she's also very sly and cunning; you can tell she's always got some motive or plan for what she's doing. When trying to convey her old-lady speech, mannerisms and personality, I think Mamizou just shone like a diamond speaking to Marisa about gathering people to search for Reimu: she just sounded so convincing, yet relatable in a way, so anyone who would've heard her speak would have agreed with her right away.

It's just... the sheer charisma that exuded from her as she spoke, but in the most down-to-earth, not-dignified-at-all way possible is great; it captivated me and I was writing it. Seriously, if I were Marisa, I would've fist pumped with determination at the prospect of that search party from just how well Mamizou sold that idea to me. And she wasn't even trying that hard...! She already knew Marisa would be fine doing that, after all. So Marisa's gonna gather some cooperative folks? And Nue of all youkai is helping her out. Nue's surprisingly more simple-minded than Mamizou, and gives off a more fun-loving feel; she just wants to do her thing. However, that also doesn't make her all that reliable, so one can only wonder what exactly Nue will do to help find Reimu...

Whatever the case, it really seems like things are finally taking off on Marisa's side, and I had a TON of fun writing all those Touhou characters (though I'm simultaneously afraid of greatly confusing the poor people who are reading this without knowing Touhou). Marisa's remarks were amazing XD I was originally going to end the chapter there, but then I realized that doing so would mean leaving the chapter's content only as: 'the second half of a fighting scene and stuff taking off on the side'; it wasn't a whole lot. With that in mind, I included a bit of Reimu's exploration of Waterfall. A lot of people seem to want Reimu to understand stuff fast, but I don't think she'll immediately jump to the conclusion that these monsters aren't necessarily youkai just out of some information; eventually, it'll happen. But not that fast.

I'm also sort of sad at the fact that I'm probably not taking care of that 'scale' problem a reviewer pointed out, but now that's mostly because I can't really describe scenery that even I haven't seen at all. I mean, what can I add to a hallway, or just a random path? I tried my best though. The monster encounters might be a bit weak this time around, and for that, I also apologize. Though, in a way, I don't think Reimu would freak out over any of these monsters so it would only make sense for the battles to be underwhelming in that regard. An initial plan was actually for Reimu to see Monster Kid, talk to them and then they'd actually be tagging along through all of Waterfall.

However, I realized that didn't make much sense when it comes to Monster Kid's character and that having them around wouldn't make things all that much fun. It'd be cool, but at the same time, it wouldn't since the interactions wouldn't be all that interesting... I was admittedly struggling with that dialogue between Reimu and Monster Kid. Reimu talking to Monster Kid about shrine maidens though XD I think that the conversation they had was much more meaningful than my plans of having Monster Kid tag along, so I'm rather satisfied.

Now, look forward to more of Waterfall? And maybe some progress on Marisa's part ^^


	7. Chapter 7

**First Words:**

* * *

 **Wiltarrow - Yeah, Waterfall's a harder place to work with, especially seeing as you at least have some characters supporting you in the Ruins, Snowdin or Hotland, but there's no one in Waterfall for Reimu. More than anything, I at first struggled with how to go about Undyne's fight and appearances, but when I took care of that, Reimu interpreting the the lore and having her not completely go past every area became the main issue. Putting the lore aside, I wouldn't be too distraught, if I were you ;D Because you might just find that this chapter's got your worries covered. Well, scenery-wise, I tried my best to describe where exactly Reimu goes, and I can only hope it'll be understandable! Vocabulary's admittedly a struggle for me... ^^' Whatever the case, thank you very much for reviewing!**

 **robodunker51 - I dunno about you, but I'd be more than surprised as a manipulative flower when some weird red-white human summons deadly balls of light all of a sudden; can't help making him not seem that strong in comparison when he got caught off-guard ^^ Besides, the Touhou characters** _ **are**_ **way stronger than monsters, save for maybe a few exceptions. The only thing that's been saving them from Reimu's utter strength is the different battle system, really. Can't nerf, sorry 8D Whatever the case, thank you for reviewing...? At least, it does seem like you're expressing an opinion, so I'll appreciate that and respond accordingly.**

 **Axis - Oh wow, Gaster. Uh... Reimu's not having enough Fun for it to happen, and we'll just leave it at that. Sorry, I don't want to tread on the unknown, especially since a few of those scenes would basically consist of Reimu finding a place, thinking it's weird, interacting with something, thinking it's weird and leaving thinking that was a waste of her time with a neutral expression, which wouldn't be all that interesting. She'd just... see it, I guess. Either way, it was a good question! My answer, on the other hand, might just be disappointing ;_; Hopefully this won't be too bothersome, and thank you for reviewing!**

 **Guest - Hmmm... I don't think he could ever confuse someone like** _ **Reimu**_ **with Chara, I gotta admit XD Frisk looked similar and everything, so that might've been a thing there, but Reimu's completely different and it's clear she's got a will of her own so eeeh... Flowey's just stalking the anomaly. Well, either way, thank you for reviewing!**

 **b-wolf95 - No plans are really set in stone yet for what'll happen after this fic (or, for what I'll write that continues this fic), and I'll remain vague towards most predictions for what'll happen in this story so I can't validate or invalidate your guess. Besides, I also figured that setting this story after a lunar invasion or in the middle of stuff about urban legends wouldn't be all that convenient, and I didn't want this to be set before Ten Desires (and Hopeless Masquerade) at all out of wanting the Ten Desires characters to be around, so after Double Dealing Character is the perfect setting. Some characters may have powers that could help Asriel out, but Yuuka's isn't one of them because it can't fix a lacking soul; it just fixes flowers ^^ And agh, omg I must've been tired or something, sorry for mispelling your name; I fixed it. Now there's no proof it happened, mwah ha ha ha ha! Whatever the case, thank you for reviewing as always!**

 **peachlemonade - Hello to** _ **you**_ **again 8D Replying's a ton of fun, so it's no problem! Yup, there are three variations of Fantasy Seal: the unfocused 'Worn' one, the focused 'Marred' one, and the Last Word 'Blink' one, which is a spellcard I would never be able to make Reimu use in normal circumstances. They all show up in Imperishable Night, but I only got two of them (and the easy version, I guess) in here. At first, I didn't really want to use them because their full names are awkward, but it was either that or pulling out easier spellcards which would be a little anti-climatic. As for the images, well, I don't think I can put links here either...? At least, they don't seem to work in general (I'm certain they don't on the profile page, but don't know if they work in a story), so I'd have to put parentheses in slashes or something: I dunno, it seems more like putting images might be more troublesome for people in the long run. If I see other people also want that, I'll probably put them, but for now I'll refrain from it. Hahaha, Reimu's going all sorts of places for sure, I've written so much scenery already X.X When it comes to this story, I won't say anything about Asgore, but he's kind of tragic, I feel for the guy. Who knows what exactly will take place with Reimu meeting him? I preferably try to get 2 chapters out per month, but even that's sort of pushing it so I don't think my production rate's that fast, mostly because these are really long chapters. I can only hope they're worth the wait. Either way, thank you again for reviewing!**

Woah, omg, the last time I updated was on my birthday, I thought I had uploaded something on March ;_; Guess not, I'm sorry, I sure took a lot of time with Chapter 8. Either way, this story's got 11 favorites and 11 followers since the last chapter and *gasp* this story somehow got over a hundred followers, that's amazing...! It kinda shocks me still, even though it's gone over that mark for a bunch of days now. Just... wow! Besides, it's also amazing how I've got so many consistent views, like, there's not a single day where they wane so I can't help but stare in wonder at the very, very consistent chart of people checking the story even weeks after I've uploaded a chapter (I mean, there's always a considerable rise when I upload a chapter, obviously, but you get the idea ^^). Well, thank you all, that's the most (or least, even) I can say!

Whatever the case, enjoy!

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 **Chapter 7: The Downfall of Reimu**

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The Youkai Mountain has been rowdy as of late. From the sudden appearance of another mountain, its residents are in an uneasy state: the youkai societies living there have even decided to scout the new landmark, sending a few of their own. Not only that, but it seems the Moriya Shrine has been managing the negotiations between the locals. However, it has not been going smoothly... Great change in Gensokyo is to be feared from this development. Newspapers fly about the Youkai Mountain.

Kasen Ibaraki wonders what exactly Reimu is doing about this problem. While the incident is already solved from the perspective of someone who merely exterminates youkai, the political complications surging from it continue, and they, too, bring tension and conflict. Unfortunately, Reimu's approach to the subject matter tends to be a straightforward threat, forcing the faction to settle down. Though Reimu can settle these problems by talking them over, this method doesn't seem frequently used by the shrine maiden.

... Seeing as this must be brought to her attention, Kasen decided to go to the Hakurei Shrine and give her an earful about the current incident. She assumes Marisa will also be there, as she usually is, so she will be able to talk some sense into both of them; two birds with one stone.

However, as she reaches the shrine, Kasen hears no noise and sees no one. "This shrine seems even more deserted than usual..." she mutters, looking around warily. Seeing nothing that would stop her, she enters the shrine to see if Reimu and Marisa happen to be inside. She is also aware of Shinmyoumaru's temporary residence in the shrine, so she expects her presence as well.

Even inside the shrine, there is only silence. _Reimu isn't here?_ Kasen narrows her eyes thoughtfully. _Could it be that she actually is taking care of the incident? I've heard only the Moriya Shrine was doing anything, but maybe..._ "Hey, you!" A voice shouting at her interrupts her train of thought, though it doesn't sound as loud as it should be due to the height of its origin. Kasen immediately faces the tiny habitation of Shinmyoumaru. "What's someone as fishy as you doing around here?!"

"Fishy? Me?" Kasen questions, slightly surprised at such a claim.

Shinmyoumaru points at Kasen with her shining needle sword. "Yeah, you!" Shinmyoumaru responds while seeing Kasen squatting down to her eye level. "There's no one else here, and I kind of have a bad feeling about you! I don't really know why though..." Shinmyoumaru glances towards the side, as if to put aside the last statement entirely. "Anyway, what do you want from here? If it's Reimu, she's missing so don't bother waiting for her to return!"

"Missing...?!" Kasen utters, taken aback by the information she has just processed. "How did that happen?!" Even Kasen can recognize Reimu's strength: as flawed as Reimu's personality may be, it seems unlikely for her to simply go missing.

"I don't know! She just left to solve the incident and no one's seen her since!" Seeing as Shinmyoumaru is as distraught from announcing it as Kasen is from hearing it, she finds herself safely assuming she isn't lying. If anything, Kasen can only think of the worst-case scenario...

"No one?" Despite that, she decides to have Shinmyoumaru confirm her words.

"No one! Marisa asked around the mountain, and she said Reimu didn't even get there! Don't you believe me?" Shinmyoumaru asks, feeling as if Kasen were underestimating her somehow. In general, Shinmyoumaru is somewhat wary of Kasen's presence for unknown reasons, but tries not to let that scare her.

 _Marisa may have asked around, but people can claim whatever they want; even lies..._ Reimu would never back down from something she is convicted to do, especially if it's part of her duties. _The mountain's locals... They might have done something reckless._ Kasen manages to smile apologetically. "Don't worry, I'm not doubting you. It's just strange that someone like Reimu has gone missing. You understand," she calmly says.

"Well, yeah... Reimu's really strong, so it doesn't make any sense that she's missing." Shinmyoumaru crosses her arms, seemingly thoughtful. She knows Marisa wasn't lying, and has no reason to. She doesn't distrust Marisa. Even so, it is hard to imagine Reimu being done in by anyone. However, what are the chances of anything else having happened to Reimu?

"Exactly." Kasen nods. Then she glances towards the shrine's exit. "Anyway, if Reimu isn't here, there's nothing else I can do so I'll just get going. Will you be okay all by yourself in the shrine?"

Shinmyoumaru huffs. "Of course I will!"

"If you've been okay alone all this time, then I suppose it was a stupid question," Kasen remarks before standing up. "Goodbye." She briefly waves at Shinmyoumaru with her bandaged 'arm', and then proceeds to leave the shrine.

"I wasn't planning on getting involved with this incident, but..." Kasen mutters with narrowed eyes. _Considering what might have happened to Reimu, I can't leave that mountain alone,_ Kasen thinks as she coldly looks towards the sky.

 _I must investigate, and see it for myself._

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 **. . .**

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"I..." Reimu looks towards numerous broken crystal shards around her, pieces of the table it used to be above, and melted parts of cheese splat over them with an uneasy smile. "Might have over-done it a little." That understatement is made out of sheer optimism. From a tiny crack in a wall, Reimu can even hear squeaks of despair, but pays them no mind (because she doesn't care).

Curious about the random piece of cheese trapped in a crystal, Reimu tried to release it by hitting it with her Purification Rod at first. However, as that wasn't working, Reimu grew frustrated at the crystal and cast Fantasy Seal on it.

... The results were as disastrous as expected (to anyone but Reimu at the time). _I guess it can't be helped now,_ she thinks before deciding to finally move forward through Waterfall. A final squeak resounds, but Reimu remains unresponsive to the mouse's cries. With a neutral expression, Reimu walks for a few minutes until she finds a familiar sight.

To the left, she sees Sans near an object she found in the Wishing Room before... and a familiar, recurring box. Reimu frowns as she approaches Sans. "Someone's really got to take down whoever's making this box scam. It's getting annoying."

Sans follows Reimu's line of sight. He stares at the box for a while, as if associating Reimu's words with what is truly there. "oh." As if greatly amused, Sans mischievously looks towards the side. "you thought that was a scam?"

"Isn't it? No one would make a box where you can store and get your items back at will without at least charging for it." Reimu narrows her eyes, being somewhat aware of the fact that Sans is implying she is wrong. "I'm not about to believe someone's doing people that much of a favor out of the kindness of their hearts." She crosses her arms, irritated at the thought of her ever falling for such easy scams.

"i guess it'd be pretty suspicious for you, but it's not a scam. trust me. this is common underground technology. everyone's used one of these at least once. me included." Sans winks. "but then again, you don't look like you're carrying much. so maybe you'd have no use for it anyway."

Reimu hums thoughtfully with a skeptical expression. "Common Underground technology, huh... You monsters are pretty advanced. I could find something similar where I come from, but it'd probably be some artifact owned by a self-righteous hermit." Reimu frowns, seemingly displeased. Then, other thoughts occur to mind, making her recover her neutral expression. "And even then, I'd bet Marisa would pawn it off of her before me..."

"that a friend of yours?" Sans asks, admittedly curious at the name Reimu has uttered. Slightly surprised at the question, Reimu widens her eyes.

She hadn't noticed that she even said Marisa's name out loud, so the realization made her feel somewhat awkward. "Sure." Reimu opts for this answer, unwilling to elaborate on the topic. "She's probably taking care of things while I'm not around, but I wouldn't want to take it easy just because of that. Who knows what might be happening to the shrine as I speak!"

"seems like being a shrine maiden's serious business. at least you've got people helpin' you out on the other side." Sans shrugs, figuring Reimu wouldn't want to specify on that either. Due to that, he decides to go into what truly matters. "i get that you wanna reach the king's castle as fast as possible, but i wouldn't rush through every single area i find if i were you. you might just miss out on something important. and if you do, it might make your journey all the more difficult for you."

Reimu frowns. "Another lecture disguised as friendly advice? I don't really need any of that. I can get through this place no matter what! I have to!"

"how you end up going through the underground's all up to you. i'm just giving you a helping hand. as a pal." Sans winks. "i wouldn't lec-your adventure go on without offering you a few pointers."

It takes Reimu a few moments to understand the pun based off of the word 'lecture', but when she does, she doesn't look amused. "That one's so far-fetched."

"that depends on your perspective," Sans responds, "seems all right in my eye sockets." Knowing that Sans even took advantage of her words to say 'eye sockets' instead of 'eyes' due to him being a skeleton only makes her unamused frown deepen.

"Ugh, whatever," Reimu utters, "I'm going now. I've got a castle to get to."

"actually, wait a sec." Reimu isn't even given time to turn around, much less to step away from the area. Sans moves towards the box, leaving Reimu curious. "i got another pointer to give ya." He then opens the box. "you'll thank me for this one later down the road." From the abyss that is its interior, Sans takes out something covered in a familiar blue wrapping. _Isn't that the Nice Cream from that blue monster in Snowdin?_

Reimu's expression turns skeptical as Sans stretches his arm out to her, as if to give the Nice Cream to her. "here you go. monster food doesn't need to be digested, and basically just heals hp. luckily for you, you can eat it right in the middle of battle and no one'll complain."

"Isn't that cheating?" _Besides, if Papyrus's spaghetti is anything to go by, that thing probably tastes terrible..._ Reimu thinks while eyeing the Nice Cream warily.

"nope. perfectly acceptable," Sans casually replies, "if anything, it makes you wonder why barely anyone uses items in the first place."

Reimu continues staring at the Nice Cream. "I don't think it's worth it if it tastes bad," Reimu bluntly says, still leaning towards not taking the food Sans is offering her.

"not all monster food is like papyrus's spaghetti," Sans assures her. "eating it won't kill you or anything. so go on. take the nice cream." Reimu narrows her eyes thoughtfully as Sans urges her to take the food in his hand. "it's got nice words in it. you can't say no to that."

"I'm fine with not having any encouragement, you know?" Reimu takes the Nice Cream despite those words. "I can handle myself without anyone. Anyway, where am I supposed to keep these items if I get any more?" At least, Reimu assumes she will be able to find more food to use in battle, but she doesn't have any room to keep it in. She is already holding her Purification Rod in one hand, and the Nice Cream in the other; she would probably have to hold it with her mouth whenever she'd have to throw amulets.

"in this box," Sans responds.

Reimu frowns at him. "The box can't follow me around. It's not like I can tell whenever I'll have a battle either."

"welp. you're out of luck. the most i can give you now is a telescope and i'm pretty sure you can't put any food in there." Sans points at the familiar object he had been standing next to before he had to pull out the Nice Cream from the box. It seems that the object also found in the Wishing Room is called a telescope; Reimu briefly takes note of this in her mind. "hey. maybe you'll find something eventually. there are a few shopkeepers in the underground. they might just be sellin' a bag or two."

"I don't have any money," Reimu points out, seemingly neutral to that issue. If push comes to shove, she can just beat up the shopkeepers and take what she wants.

"huh. so you didn't know you could take money from the monsters you beat?"

Reimu widens her eyes in surprise. "I can?" _That sounds way too convenient to be true._ If anything, Reimu wishes all the youkai she beat would also have to give her money.

"guess i should've seen that coming," Sans remarks. "a monster can fight you for just about any reason, but in the end, they can take a portion of your money if you lose. if you don't, you can get some of theirs. that is, if you feel like it. no use givin' away money if you don't actually want it. when you don't have anything, it's also fine, by the way." _I really wanna implement that in Gensokyo now..._

However, Reimu can already tell no youkai would ever adhere to that. Most of them wouldn't even have money anyway. "it used to be a way to pay the royal guard for their efforts, but it's now become a full-blown rule of battle. you know. to make it more of a competition. it's all in good fun. you can't really abuse it anyway. the royal guard comes after you for that."

... Reimu smirks. "But now that I've beaten up the head of the Royal Guard, I don't think that'll be a problem for me..." _I'm gonna strike it rich here!_ Reimu mentally proclaims.

"the currency's probably not the same where you come from," Sans says, "so even if you get rich here, it won't help you out in the long run."

"Tch..." Reimu scowls. "Anyway, that's all, right?"

"yup. unless you wanna look through that telescope. but i'm pretty sure you're in too much of a rush to appreciate its premium view." Sans shrugs, as if uncaring of this fact.

Reimu gives him a blank look, figuring (with her intuition) that there probably is nothing special about the telescope. "Uh-huh... Well, see you around, I guess." _He's probably going to show himself again at some point,_ Reimu thinks. After all, Sans seems to be practically stalking her, at least in her eyes.

"see ya." With that, Reimu decides to check out the closed room near the box. It is a small room, and there doesn't seem to be much inside. In fact, there are only scriptures at the walls in front of her, and no traces of anything else. Curious about the scriptures, Reimu walks over to them. Similar scriptures had information on monster History, so Reimu can only think this will yield the same sort of information.

However, she actually can't make out the words on the wall. They seem to be so old, they are practically illegible. Considering this room exploration pointless, Reimu frowns bitterly before leaving. As she does, she looks to the left, and finds a monster standing idly nearby. Its vacant expression and simple, gray-ish form serve to make Reimu not feel intimidated by it at all.

Though Reimu planned on leaving it alone, it starts speaking to her before she can do so: "What's a star?" Reimu gives it a confused look.

"It's a light in the sky," she responds without much hassle. "What else would it be?"

"So you're not a star?"

 _Why would I be a star?_ "Of course not."

"... What's the sky?"

"You don't know what the sky is?" Reimu asks, even more perplexed than before. Have the monsters of the Underground been trapped for so long that they no longer know of the sky? Some seemed to know of it, but maybe this one has not even seen the surface at all.

"Is it a place?"

Reimu frowns, seemingly troubled. "Not exactly."

"Is it a person?"

"Uh..."

"... Are you the sky?"

Reimu scowls. "No! The sky is...!" She attempts to gather a good definition of the sky from her mind but surprisingly, none seems to occur to her. "It's... a space, or something like that..." Unsatisfied with her own words, she reaches her limit. "W-whatever! I don't have to explain anything to you!"

From her frustration, Reimu simply leaves the monster by walking ahead at a fast pace. She doesn't spare it a single glance, though it definitely is staring at her as she goes. Reimu reaches the edge of the area, with water following it. The water, Reimu notes, is of a brighter color than normal, probably due to something illuminating it below. She shrugs, finding that fact uninteresting. Instead, she sets her sights on the other side of the water.

There seems to be land. Standing right at the edge of that land, like Reimu, is a duck. A duck-like monster, to be precise. However, it looks identical to a normal duck. Due to that, it doesn't faze Reimu at all. She floats over the water and swiftly lands next to the duck monster, still paying no mind to it. Even so, the monster's eyes now have a tint of sadness to them. Though it prided itself on the duty of taking people from one side of the area to the other, Reimu can already fly as she pleases...

Reimu keeps walking forward, only to find herself with even more paths to choose from. Three pathways to the left, one to the right, and another one forward. To Reimu, so many options are greatly troublesome, especially if something useful happens to be in either of the paths. Thankfully, there seems to be a sign in a corner. Reimu decides to see what's written on it.

'North: Blook Acres'

'East: Hotland'

'?: Temmie Village'

 **. . .**

Reimu frowns. "None of these point to the castle..." she mutters, now unsure of where to go. Initially, her intuition was pointing towards the eastern path, but it seems like the path leads her to a completely different location called 'Hotland'. The supposed northern path also leads to a seemingly pointless location, and as it can be at any of the three paths to the north, it would be confusing to follow any of them, so Reimu finds herself with only two choices: backtracking, or following the path below her.

... Not wanting to backtrack at all, Reimu decides to walk through the southern path instead. At first, this doesn't seem like a terrible idea, and Reimu's mood improved from now having a clear way to go. However, as she moves further into it, Reimu sees water before her. The water is shallow, but even then, the thought of stepping through it greatly displeases Reimu. Besides, the sizable piles of random objects and faintly foul smell don't help her motivation to trudge onwards at all.

At least Reimu has the ability to fly. With that in mind, Reimu is now floating over the water, mere centimeters from it. She passes through a lonely-looking dummy and two piles of trash, all with a bitter frown.

Then, she hears a sound. Reimu turns around, but doesn't see anything. If anything, she only notices that the dummy is missing. She faces forward again, only to see the dummy right in front of her. "Woah!" Reimu flies backwards slightly to make some distance between the dummy and herself. She sees it now has eyes, and those eyes are locked onto hers relentlessly. Reimu assumes a fighting stance, figuring the dummy isn't acting out of any peaceful intentions.

"Hahaha... Too intimidated to fight me, huh?" it confidently says, but that fails to faze Reimu.

In fact, her displeased expression becomes completely neutral. "I didn't even know you were alive."

"Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!" Reimu is already expecting a duel, but it seems the dummy wishes to speak further. "I am a ghost that lives inside a dummy! I'm technically not even alive! Just like my cousin... who used to live inside a dummy, too."

"UNTIL _YOU_ CAME ALONG!" Reimu's neutral expression remains. "When you came in, they thought they were in for a nice chat... but you only fought the monster guiding you! Relentlessly. Ruthlessly! MERCILESSLY! They were so scared of being next that they left their dummy in tears!" _Was this in the Ruins?_

 _... I kind of faintly remember a dummy being around since I was being told to talk to it of all things, but..._ The dummy hadn't done anything special at the time, Reimu notes; at least, as far as she remembers. Either way, such details don't matter to Reimu, who doesn't bother protesting or responding to the dummy in front of her on the topic. " **HUMAN!** I'll have you scared into tears too, begging for your life...!" Its color turns red in pure anger as its body disassembles itself into various, unsettling parts; teeth seem to grow out of the middle of its body.

 **'*Mad Dummy blocks the way.'**

Reimu frowns impatiently. "That's what I was waiting for!" Not wanting to move the Nice Cream in her hand just so she can throw amulets, Reimu decides to simply use her Purification Rod for the remainder of the battle. Despite having had to make this decision, Reimu looks fairly determined as she brandishes her trusty weapon. "You better be ready for this because you're going down for getting in my way!"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Meanwhile, in Gensokyo, Seija Kijin smirks. _Everyone is giving attention to that mountain... They've practically forgotten the last incident._ She can see it from afar: the mountain that has just appeared in Gensokyo... Even though the side effects of the Miracle Mallet have yet to cease, everyone is far too busy solving the incident at hand to pay attention to what has technically already been solved. _I can do whatever I want now that they're all too busy to notice!_

Without the people to enforce justice, Seija is free to do as she pleases. Naturally, that involves re-starting her revolution, which she has found to be possible even without Shinmyoumaru with her. From her research on the side effects of the Miracle Mallet, Seija concluded that the objects affected by that tool still house some of its power: if Seija can collect a good amount of them, she will be able to use that power through them and make all her plans come into fruition. Now that no one can notice her is precisely the best time to strike!

... She feels a presence. Seija turns around, only to find a cube of abyssal darkness. "Hey there," it greets Seija, "You look like you've got free time on your hands."

"Who are you?" Seija warily asks with narrowed eyes. She can tell it's a youkai of sorts, at least. Could it be...?

The cube chuckles. "There'd be no point to someone like me if I told you that!"

"Well," Seija states, "now I'm curious." _A youkai of the unknown, huh... That can't be its true form. An illusion...? Or..._ "I'll have you expose your true form to me!" With her eyes locked on to the mysterious cube and a flick of her hand, Seija's powers are triggered. The cube can even sense this, curious on what exactly the amanojaku is doing.

Before she can notice, Nue's form is exposed. What is now visible is an expression of sheer surprise before the smug look of Seija. "My true form...!" Nue's mood sours immensely from this turn of events; she scowls. "How did you do that?"

"Seeing the true form of anything is too easy when you can even flip the unknown upside-down. What else is there to an unknown form when it's reversed?" Seija's smirk widens. "Even your existence, comprised of fear of the unknown... If reversed, just what will be left of it?" She shrugs. That wouldn't be too interesting. "But enough of that. What does a nue such as yourself want with me?" Naturally, Seija doesn't plan on complying with anything Nue will tell her, and is only asking out of curiosity.

"Ugh, wait, are you an amanojaku?" Nue briefly questions, grimacing. "What a bother, I chose the most annoying target ever." Even by other youkai, amanojaku are a hated sort. After all, their nature relies on what opposes things. "But now that you've gotten me angry, I'm not just going to let you go. At least, not without roughening you up. That was part of the plan anyway, since it was obvious no one would search for the shrine maiden without any incentive."

Seija raises an eyebrow skeptically. "Search... for the shrine maiden, you say?"

"Exactly," Nue responds with a sly smile. "She's missing, you know? The red-white shrine maiden, that is." Red-white... A color scheme Seija is more than familiar with, and not just from herself. The one that put a stop to her plans was undoubtedly a red-white shrine maiden. Reimu Hakurei, or so she was called. It hadn't been that long since the incident happened, after all. There is simply no way Seija wouldn't remember Reimu.

"Oh? Is she now?" Seija snickers. "That's interesting." It is more than interesting: it's better than Seija thought. _So Gensokyo's shrine maiden is gone?_

"Isn't it? That's why you're going to help everyone look for her," Nue states without hesitation. The strength of a nue is not to be underestimated. Seija knows her demeanor comes from how sure of her own power she is.

However, Seija doesn't comply with others. It simply doesn't happen. She frowns, displeased at the order. "And why would I have to do something like that? I would have to be a fool to search for the shrine maiden."

"Because I said so," Nue answers, "And if that doesn't convince you, then you should go look for her because I will crush you otherwise." She smirks. "I'll show you an unknown not even the likes of you can reverse!" The mysterious wing-like appendages on Nue's back, red on one side and blue on another, contract and expand to their original positions despite their sharp appearance; the movement is slightly dizzying.

"In the end, that's all you want, isn't it? You just want to bully the weak under the pretense of making them search for the shrine maiden. Self-righteous delusions and hypocrisy aren't what you'd expect of a nue, admittedly enough!" Seija argues, wanting to hold her ground against the intimidating presence of Nue.

"That's the last thing I want to hear from someone like you! So what if I want to have a little fun helping out a respectful cause? No one told me I had to do the peaceful route with this." Nue narrows her eyes in the same way an animal would narrow its eyes at its prey. "Especially when you're so uncooperative."

"So you're going to force me to look for her? Hah! Give me a break. With the shrine maiden gone, now I can truly do whatever I want!" Seija exclaims, still unamused. "I'm not about to let a nuisance like you stop me!" They lock eyes.

"I'll see to it that hypocrisy of yours rots along with the shrine maiden!"

"Submit to the fearful, mysterious unknown and learn your place, amanojaku!"

As if determined from the very beginning, their battle starts, all in the name of Reimu Hakurei...

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"Impossible," Mad Dummy mutters, "Impossible! IMPOSSIBLE!" They are as mad as they are shocked. The human in front of them has managed to defeat them completely, without any hassle whatsoever. She dodged his dummies flawlessly, and her attacks... "Physical attacks aren't supposed to work on me! You couldn't have defeated me with that weird stick!"

Reimu smirks. "Didn't you know? A shrine maiden's tools are especially made to exterminate ghosts like you. It'd be weirder if it hadn't worked!" Indeed, the extermination of ghosts is like second nature to someone like Reimu: all of her weapons have some sort of spiritual and magical energy kept within them, made to hurt youkai. "Now, you better be prepared to admit your loss! You might as well just skip your turn and let me spare you if you know what's good for you!"

"Ugh... No way..." they mutter, distraught. Mad Dummy's HP is already fairly low, but they do not want to lose to a human under any circumstances, especially when she is acting in such a proud manner. Mad Dummy was supposed to have their vengeance! They were supposed to take Reimu's soul, cross the barrier and do as they pleased! And yet, Reimu is far too strong to defeat. Mad Dummy realizes they have no chances against her. **"BUT!"**

Figuring Mad Dummy isn't willing to give up, Reimu frowns, seemingly troubled. "As long as it's my turn, you can't do anything to me! You'll have to bear through as many attacks as I want until you finally bite the dust! So even if my HP's already low... I can just bring YOURS down to 0!" An assortment of small dummies floats above Mad Dummy. "Hahaha. Hahaha! HAHAHA! You'll be stuck here until your very last moments!"

... Reimu sighs. "Is that so?" _Well, this thing doesn't really know that it doesn't work that way for me, but still... What a drag._ Despite those thoughts, Reimu manages to smile mischievously. _This is why sore losers suck._ That smile slowly becomes a smirk as a ying-yang orb materializes near Reimu. Unfortunately, that orb is different from the others, so it fails to float and falls, making her have to accommodate it with the hand holding her Purification Rod. She moves said Purification Rod to her other hand, and focuses most of her strength on holding the heavy orb in place, especially as it is growing even larger and heavier as moments pass.

Mad Dummy trembles slightly, staring straight at the orb. Is it a bluff, or an actual attack? However, the rules are clear: attacks are in turns. Even if Reimu intended to attack, she would not have been able to do so. With this in mind, Mad Dummy has all their dummies fly at Reimu's soul and continues feeling confident with their cheating. "Dummies! Attack!"

"Not so fast!" Reimu shouts as the dummies fly in her soul's direction. The ying-yang orb is starting to make her arm hurt, so Reimu doesn't hesitate to aim it at Mad Dummy. **"Holy Relic: Ying-Yang Demon God Orb!"** Since it's very heavy, Reimu takes a few seconds just to properly position it, but she manages to throw it at Mad Dummy regardless. This unusual heavy-lifting happens to also count as a spellcard, one Reimu doesn't use all that often. Though it looks big and intimidating enough to do so, the ying-yang orb can't truly flatten the opponent.

Reimu has her own soul dodge the orb and watches as it not only hits all the dummies previously flying towards it, but it also continues towards Mad Dummy at the exact same speed. Mad Dummy seems visibly nervous now... "It can't be. It can't be! IT CAN'T BE!" A scream is the last sound heard from Mad Dummy, before even that was cut off by the ball having successfully collided with them. As expected, it simply bounces off of Mad Dummy after that and fades away as if it had occupied no mass whatsoever, though the 25 HP it took from Mad Dummy is enough to prove it was as heavy as it looked.

... Mad Dummy's turn ends. "Serves you right for cheating," Reimu says, "I win!"

 **'*You spare Mad Dummy.'**

Meanwhile, it seems Mad Dummy is still recovering from the orb's impact, drowsily attempting to continue floating. "This human... This human's way more trouble than she's worth. I'm out of here!" With that, Mad Dummy simply sinks into the shallow water and somehow out of sight. Reimu stares at where Mad Dummy used to be for a moment with a neutral expression on her face, somewhat troubled with the clear waste of time that was their battle.

"Whatever," Reimu mutters before proceeding to float through the dump she seems to be in. She moves her Purification Rod back to her right hand as she floats about, only catching sight of many foreign objects in a pitiful state. _I don't think the way to a king's castle would be through garbage..._ Even so, Reimu doesn't see other alternatives.

Due to this, she has to bear through the faint smell of various rotting objects and see where the path she is on will lead her. She finds another waterfall in her path, and from a distance, she sees a patch of golden flowers. They remind her of a certain flower... Reimu floats towards said patch of flowers. Several wooden planks surround these flowers, rotting from the time spent within the water. Reimu feels light faintly shining down on her.

Looking up, she spots many wooden planks, and they seem to be forming a path. The path is upwards, Reimu notes. _I guess this might just lead me to the castle!_ With an optimistic smile, Reimu flies up to these wooden planks at higher speeds than usual and swiftly lands on them. They are serving as platforms, and they are many. In fact, there is a needless amount of paths available in this area. Reimu starts to regret having landed already, as she figures she will have to fly again to discover which path truly leads somewhere.

Now that she is floating in space again, she can see something resembling an exit from afar; she wastes no time flying towards it. Reimu feels even better than before for being able to fly, as the many wrong paths she could have taken would have greatly wasted her time. _This is a really disorienting area... I wonder why,_ Reimu thinks before setting her feet down on solid ground, having landed on the exit. Unlike the light pouring through the wooden paths, the area ahead of her seems especially damp and dark.

The only visible things in this hallway are scriptures faintly glowing in a light blue hue. _Is this legible or what?_ Curious, Reimu decides to see this for herself. Immediately, she can make out the words engraved into the dark stone of the Waterfall caverns; she smiles.

'In the end, it could hardly be called a war. United, the humans were too powerful, and us monsters, too weak.'

... Yet again, the text perplexes Reimu. _Are these youkai really so weak that they can't even win against normal humans together? That doesn't add up. I mean, the other text was talking about monsters being able to absorb human souls, so why wouldn't they just do that and win if they're apparently the kind of youkai that gets stronger by absorbing human souls?_ Not that Reimu can even accept a kind of youkai that can only grow stronger by absorbing souls. All monsters Reimu found in the Underground aren't of the same species, but the texts speak of them as a collectivity, as if their properties were the same; that also makes no sense to Reimu. Reimu continues reading:

'Not a single soul was taken, and countless monsters were turned to dust...'

Reimu frowns. _So what, these youkai couldn't even kill one human? Is that it? That can't be true._ But then again, why would the monsters write negatively about their war? Anyone would write what makes them look good, rather than this harsh reality: there is no reason to document a lie of this sort. _And why did the youkai turn into dust in the first place? Didn't they just get beaten?_ There are too many unanswered questions. Despite that, Reimu moves towards the left and continues reading.

'The humans, afraid of our power, declared war on us. They attacked us suddenly, and without mercy.'

 _Maybe they're trying to look like the victims here?_ Reimu thinks, finding no other explanation to what is written on these cavern walls. But for who were they trying to play the victim card for if there exist no humans among them? It still makes no sense for the monsters to falsely document this war. "Ugh..." _I don't think I'll ever understand this..._ That only frustrated Reimu because she finds a need to know more about monsters, as that could hold information as to how to cross the barrier.

However, she hasn't found anything coherent to go by. Disappointed, Reimu simply continues walking along the corridor since there are no more scriptures to read. _Shouldn't these all be in a book somewhere? It's kind of dumb scattering your own History throughout a cave..._ Reimu's movement is brought to a halt when she reaches the edge of the path she is on; it seems she is on higher ground. Below her is a path forward, which Reimu promptly lowers herself to. She spots a basket of sorts containing various umbrellas.

Seeing as there is an abundance of water drops up ahead, as if it could even rain in the Underground, Reimu finds herself acknowledging rather quickly the purpose of these umbrellas. Even so, she is already carrying a Nice Cream and her Purification Rod; more than that would be a complicated matter. She figures she will have to move her Purification Rod to her left hand again, but the idea displeases her slightly. Regardless, Reimu takes an umbrella from the basket as she wouldn't want to get needlessly drenched.

... It seems closed. Reimu decides to inspect the umbrella, only to find a button of sorts incorporated into the umbrella's handle. _Even the umbrellas here are weird,_ Reimu thinks before pressing the button and watching as the umbrella opens fully. _But they're not that hard to understand._ With a looser grip on the umbrella's handle than that of most people's, Reimu has it covering her head from the 'rain' as she starts walking forward in a carefree manner.

It isn't every day that Reimu is walking around with an umbrella; she tends to stay at home on rainy days. Reimu only finds herself thinking of this after a while of walking, the novelty of such circumstances wearing out for her at quite the fast rate. If anything, having to hold two objects with the same hand from needing to have an umbrella starts to be more troublesome to Reimu than anything. After all, Reimu doesn't plan on having a casual stroll through fake rain when she is stuck in an underground location away from Gensokyo.

She has higher priorities. As she feels a breeze coursing through the area (making her glad for Papyrus's leg warmers), Reimu comes across a greater exit than she has previously encountered. Sharp, rocky edges of varying shades of dark-ish blue are what make up said grand exit, and the light shining through is of a similar blue hue somehow. Truly, this is the kind of pathway one feels proud just from stepping through it, which is exactly how Reimu felt when she did so.

Surprisingly enough, this connects to an area outside of the caverns she has been travelling through. From one side, Reimu only sees rocks stretched out as far as the eye can see, while the other... Reimu's gaze turns blank when analyzing just what she is looking at. _What the heck is this supposed to be?_ A gigantic billboard blocks the scenery beyond Waterfall, one the monster population prides itself on possessing. In fact, said scenery is a perfect view of Reimu's desired destination, in its full glory, seen with the mesmerizing lighting and mood of the melancholic yet gorgeous Waterfall: the clash between the grand building and such blue colors makes for a worthwhile travel just to take photos of that very background alone, though all of Waterfall itself possesses great beauty.

... Now, what obstructs it is a billboard announcing the premiere of a new 'MTT' movie of sorts, or at least, that's what Reimu can gather from the letters on it. As for the images, they are rather... _pink;_ far too pink for Reimu's tastes. The picture is also completely full of glitter, and taking the center spot is what seems to be a black, rectangular box with a screen at its front; though it's mostly lit up in yellow, it has a few red areas as well (Reimu wonders if it makes a pattern). The box seems to have small, flexible, artificial arms at both its sides, and a small wheel at the bottom of some sort of metallic yet flexible extension located downwards, as if to serve as a means of movement. Red roses surround this robotic entity, and it is even holding one with its right arm and positioning it close to the screen one could interpret as the robot's 'face'. It is also leaning backwards for unknown reasons.

This imagery greatly confuses Reimu. In fact, Reimu is struggling to remember other instances in which she has been this confused. It's due to this that Reimu simply decides to look forward and start walking as if she hadn't seen anything, especially since she figures she'll never get an explanation for what she has just seen. Besides, she may be confused, but she certainly doesn't care enough do anything other than to look at the billboard, ignore it and move on.

Right when she notices this outside area doesn't have any 'rain', she enters the next one, which does; this means she still has to use the umbrella. It bothers Reimu further the fact that she has to walk in a not at all straightforward manner so as to not get her shoes wet, seeing as there are puddles of water stopping her from simply walking linearly. While Reimu would like to fly, she notes this isn't the best of ideas when she is using an umbrella, as it partially blocks her view. Reimu ends up resigning to the fact that there is no way around the situation and decides to take her mind off the negative parts of it by looking at her admittedly pretty surroundings.

A few echo flowers can be seen in the distance, and while they are also bothering her, Reimu can acknowledge there is some beauty to the path she is walking through precisely from the aesthetic of having puddles scattered about. This naturally comes from a purely optimistic point-of-view, as there really is nothing else positive about Reimu's circumstances other than the scenery, which Reimu normally doesn't care much for.

Finally, it seems Reimu has reached a location without rain. A basket filled with umbrellas is also conveniently nearby, so Reimu decides to leave the umbrella there... if it were closed. _How do you close this thing again?_ Reimu presses the button she used to open it; this doesn't have any effect on the umbrella. Perplexed, Reimu tries to close it by simply forcing all its edges back to their original position. Since it seemed practically about to break from such an action, Reimu stops midway.

... Reimu grows even more perplexed by the umbrella. _How did Yukari close her own umbrella? I'm pretty sure hers was this kind of umbrella..._ But fancier, Reimu dismissively adds in her mind. At least, Yukari would know how to go about all the strange objects Reimu has been coming across, being one of the few with knowledge on the Outside World. After all, the Underground apparently possesses similarly advanced technology despite having also been sealed by a barrier... Reimu starts getting slightly frustrated at the fact that she has no idea how to close the umbrella.

 **. . .**

Reimu attempts to close it once again... she hears a cracking sound.

... As expected, it looks like Reimu has broken the umbrella. For a while, Reimu stands immobile, staring at the umbrella with a curious, though slightly vacant expression.

 **. . .**

Reimu scowls. "Stupid thing..." Out of simply not wanting to see the umbrella at all, she throws it behind her, towards the ground. While that should have marked the end of the subject, Reimu catches a glimpse of something golden precisely behind her. She has specifically spotted what seem to be golden petals... in an area where flowers wouldn't grow, especially if they're simply golden flowers.

Reimu aims five amulets towards that area, but no longer sees anything similar to a flower there. She narrows her eyes. "I know you're around here somewhere!" Reimu shouts while moving her Purification Rod back to her right hand. "Just show yourself already, flower youkai!" _How long has that flower been watching me for? The last time I spoke to him was at the Ruins._

 _For him to know where I am... He must have been following me all along,_ Reimu thinks, filling the seconds of silence that passed without any signs of Flowey. She huffs, figuring he isn't going to show up any time soon. _I bet he's still watching me... But from where?_ Admittedly, there are no good hiding spots in this room. _How has that flower been watching over me all this time without me noticing?_

Reimu faces forward and starts walking past the basket and the sign she promptly ignored (as it just read out 'Take one', which Reimu assumes it refers to the umbrellas). _I'll have to get to the bottom of that later._ However, this new discovery has led to Reimu being more alert of her surroundings as she moves, which isn't particularly good for the journey at hand. Immediately laying eyes on something other than walls, Reimu stares at an old statue warily. It is made of rock, and has suffered through quite an amount of damage; water drops consistently fall on it. The statue carries a lonely atmosphere with it, so Reimu ends up simply frowning before moving along, having figured the immobile statue is no flowery threat to her.

It is precisely when Reimu enters a new room that a screen suddenly appears right in front of her:

 **'*Shyren hides in a corner but somehow encounters you anyway.'**

"Huh?" Reimu immediately looks towards a corner and, as the text specified, Shyren is hiding tthere. Her head is turned away from Reimu, as if that would make her invisible. However, Reimu can only wonder why this is happening if she has only 'somehow encountered her anyway' even though she is clearly in hiding. "Do you even want to fight me?"

Shyren shifts slightly, but doesn't give Reimu any response beyond such a nervous gesture. Reimu smiles in an easygoing manner. "Oh yeah, it was my turn," she utters out loud, making Shyren react uncomfortably once again, but without any words. Reimu assumes a fighting stance. "Well, get ready. You're going to regret encountering me by coincidence!" Even after such words, Shyren does not face Reimu; this doesn't faze her.

With the ease expected of an experienced shrine maiden wielding the greatly familiar weapon that is her Purification Rod, Reimu aims an attack at Shyren. She then jumps back to create some distance in one swift motion and watches as Shyren does seem slightly weakened, but her reaction is minimal. It isn't that she is trying to ignore Reimu: Shyren is simply too shy to even face someone like Reimu, especially when she doesn't seem to want anything more than to beat her to the ground.

... Even Shyren's attack is minimal, as one or two musical notes sluggishly fall into the screen in accordance to her shakey, tone deaf hums. Reimu has no trouble simply moving to the side not to get hit and watches as that is literally all from Shyren's turn.

Reimu starts feeling slightly exasperated at Shyren's lack of a reaction. At least, Reimu assumes, she has probably taken enough HP from Shyren to make it a certainty that she can spare her.

 **'*You spare Shyren.'**

"If you didn't feel up to fighting, you could have just said so," Reimu says, "instead of wasting my time." Then, Reimu reminds herself of Sans's words; she smirks. "Now give me your money!" she demands without any sense of politeness. Reimu isn't truly expecting Shyren to give her any money, so it really doesn't occur to her to be a little more delicate when addressing her (even then, she would still have no sense of politeness, but this fact reinforces her lack of consideration further).

... However, it is after she utters such an order that Shyren finally moves, turning around to face Reimu. Her face is similar to that of a fish and, Reimu notes, what previously seemed to be her body is actually a separate entity. Said separate entity is what is holding the money out for Reimu, which she can't help but look at in a curious manner. Even so, she doesn't take much time to take it, just in case they suddenly go away. With that, Shyren and the mysterious separate entity with her make their way out of the room, though Reimu faintly hears a voice humming a song she isn't familiar with while they do so.

Did it come from Shyren? The tune sounded sad, which Reimu doesn't find too surprising: no one would be that happy about getting beaten up. _It's her fault for starting the fight._ Despite thinking that, not even Reimu is sure of how the battles are triggered: this one was especially perplexing, as it doesn't seem like Shyren herself even caused it. Reimu shifts her attention towards the free money she just received: it looks like she attained 25G. With a smile, Reimu tucks the money safely within the mysterious confines of her clothing. While objects as big as the Nice Cream or her Purification Rod would never fit, something as small as coins are not a bother for Reimu.

Water is at the middle of the room, which has two paths available for Reimu: one to her right, and another one forward. Curious, Reimu decides to check the path to her right first. After a few moments of walking, she reaches it, but sees some scriptures by its entrance:

'The northern room hides a great treasure.'

Reimu gazes thoughtfully at these scriptures. _Treasure, huh... Marisa would really love that._ From mushrooms, to echo flowers... and now treasure. Reimu can't help but think that the Underground is probably better suited to someone like Marisa than herself. She peeks at the room, but the only things she sees heavily imply that Reimu would have to solve a complicated puzzle to obtain whatever lies in that northern room.

Reimu gives up on the idea of checking on said room and walks forward. A fairly narrow path surrounded by water is what awaits Reimu, something she is rather indifferent towards. When she does step into the slightly dark room with the narrow path, Reimu doesn't react in the slightest... until a single tentacle rises from the water. She immediately assumes a defensive stance and narrows her eyes at the tentacle, but notices another one rising from behind her.

She is surrounded. "Show yourself already!" Reimu shouts, simply wanting to know the identity of the creature that seems to be manifesting itself in this area. She preferably doesn't want to fight underwater, but if the monster proves dangerous, Reimu will have to do so; she steels herself for such a circumstance.

... A head emerges from the water, though it's bigger than Reimu expected. Its eyes are large, and its expression is needlessly cutesy; she wonders what kind of youkai this is supposed to be. "H-hey... there...!" it greets in a noticeably uncomfortable manner. "I'm big, so I-I take a while to fully appear, y'know? That's why I took so long, y'know? Sorry..." It seems almost teary-eyed at the prospect of having troubled Reimu, which Reimu finds slightly odd. "A-anyway! I'm Onionsan! Onionsan, y'hear!"

"What do you want?" Reimu bluntly asks, though not out of wanting to be rude. She is merely curious about the presence of such a strange monster and flat out asked what was on her mind.

"Well, uh...!" Onionsan's reaction isn't positive, as they seem even more nervous about speaking to Reimu. "I just... Just thought you would want to... talk, and all that..." Knowing about how visibly nervous they look like, Onionsan attempts to recompose themself. "After all, it's your first time in Waterfall, right?! You're probably confused, right?! You need some help, right?!" The way they expressed themself only seems to indicate desperation, so Reimu can't help but regard this particular youkai as pitiful.

However, a use for them does occur to Reimu's mind. "Yeah..." she responds, a smile growing on her face. "You know, I've been finding these scriptures about the History of humans and monsters, but some parts are really confusing. Why do monsters turn to dust? Can you tell me that?" Reimu doesn't come up with a more pertinent question, as the most confusing points stem from the fact that the monsters do not behave like youkai in the slightest, something other monsters surely wouldn't be able to answer for her.

For a second, Onionsan seems confused, then pensive, but becomes happy again in a matter of seconds. "I don't know why us monsters turn into dust, but...! I happen to know that monsters turn into dust when they..." Onionsan pauses, looking slightly sadder. "When they die..." Reimu widens her eyes slightly at this revelation. _When they die?_ That isn't youkai-like at all. _I guess the text really meant these monsters suffered heavy casualties._ No youkai comes to mind when Reimu thinks of one that would turn into dust after death, so this information still sounds doubtful to her. Even so, it's also doubtful that Onionsan is lying, as they have no reason to do so.

"Is that so?" Reimu utters, somewhat thoughtful. "Thanks, I guess." Beyond that, Reimu figures she isn't going to get any more helpful information out of this octopus-like creature and decides to walk away from them.

Despite this, they re-emerge from the water at the position Reimu happens to be in on land. "Y-you're welcome! If you have anything else you want to ask, you can count on me, y'hear! I can help you out whenever you want, y'hear!" The chipper mood fades slightly as Onionsan reminisces. "After all, it's not like... I've got anyone else, since... They all left for the city aquarium." _Is this youkai just lonely?_ Onionsan recovers their mood once more. "But I won't do the same, y'hear! The aquariums are full, so it'd be pointless anyway! So, I'll keep hanging around, this place, until Undyne, fixes everything."

At the mention of Undyne, Reimu finds herself saying, "You shouldn't expect Undyne to fix everything." Reimu walks towards the exit for a few moments. "She's only supposed to do justice, not fix every single problem you have. You should keep that in mind," Reimu says in a rather neutral tone, as if stating the obvious, before leaving the area. Onionsan doesn't even get any time to respond to Reimu, as they are admittedly surprised by her statements and weren't given any time to reply. After that, they start wondering if they said anything wrong, as she didn't act friendly at all. Had that been because she has a history as a mean person, or due to Onionsan? This is a true dilemma.

Meanwhile, Reimu finds herself coming across scenery anyone would find gorgeous, but she remains unfazed. Contrasting with the darkness of the rock she is standing on is the bright aqua colors of the echo flowers she can see at a distance and from the water itself, wondrously shining for reasons unknown to Reimu. Delicate-looking plants surround Reimu, who doesn't bother not to step on them as she moves forward, taking in the narrow paths ahead of her. However, she immediately stops when she sees scriptures to her left.

'The power to take their souls. This is the power that the humans feared.'

... Seeing as Reimu has already concluded that from other scriptures, she feels slightly disappointed as she moves on from them. _This sure looks like a long path,_ Reimu thinks as she passes by an echo flower, this time ignoring whatever it might have to say. _I don't think I've done this much walking in the past few years..._ After all, with the power to fly, Reimu doesn't need to walk through paths. In a way, Reimu doesn't need to walk through these either, but she doesn't know where to go yet, so she doesn't risk flying all the way through the Underground. How would she see youkai that could point her to the right direction otherwise? None of them can fly, apparently.

Reimu notes the great amount of waterfalls present in these caverns from this area alone, as she can see many of them up close here. Some parts of her path are wooden bridges of a dark color, but that goes unnoticed by Reimu, who is looking towards the water rather than the floor. This area also carries faint whispering sounds, but Reimu already knows they come from the echo flowers. The echo flowers would only have dialogue from normal monsters about... typical monster topics (nothing in particular came to Reimu's mind), which is completely useless to her.

... It is then, after Reimu starts gazing at a strange, tall, shiny plant of Waterfall that she looks to the side and finds someone familiar in the distance. "What?" _Sans?_ And it isn't like Sans is blatantly stalking her by being there: he is next to a telescope, near a box Reimu initially suspected... Even the room Reimu found pointless could be seen from a distance, and becomes closer and closer to Reimu as she dashes towards a grinning Sans.

"heya," Sans casually greets as he is faced with an angry-looking Reimu. "looks like you ended up following my advice after all. isn't it much better takin' it easy and seeing the sights? it's all about the journey, buddy." Sans winks. "i'm glad you understand that." Reimu glares at Sans, figuring he does know Reimu didn't mean to make her way back to this and pointlessly explore more of this area.

The fact that she really did pointlessly explore so many rooms further dawns on Reimu... Her trip through garbage, having to hold and break an umbrella, meeting all sorts of strange monsters... All for nothing. Even the scriptures only served to confuse her. It seems like wanting to hurry as much as possible did end up being her downfall, as she couldn't even notice she was going the wrong way all along. Indeed, Reimu has not only wasted time, but proved Sans right by her actions.

Reimu's hand twitches, as if she could be frantically swinging her Purification Rod around at any moment. Feeling slightly embarrassed, though mostly angry, from this ordeal and at the fact that Sans might be teasing her, Reimu shouts while pointing her Purification Rod at him, "S-shut up! One more word from you about this and I'll seriously take you down!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

And so this chapter ends with an angry Reimu! We can all just assume Sans managed to subvert Reimu's anger, since he's surprisingly good at interacting with her ^^' I mean, he has to be... Otherwise, Reimu would kick his skeletal ass like no tomorrow. I'm really glad for this chapter since it's from it that I planned out Waterfall and, well, I don't think you'll have to worry about skipping most of Waterfall because that definitely won't happen. Anyway, Kasen!

I read up on Wild and Horned Hermit, so I got to know Kasen a bit better. I mean, she shows up in Urban Legend in Limbo, but my impression of her there was only superficial. She kind of seemed like the sort of character with common sense, you know. The one that does the right thing. However, when I read Wild and Horned Hermit, I started understanding her character better: people who say her Urban Legend in Limbo theme doesn't fit her probably don't know her all that well because while she is a fairly good person (?), who cares about others and tries to do the right thing while wanting everyone else to do the same (so she's kinda naggy), there's also this cold ruthlessness about her. Seriously, sometimes Kasen can give you the chills. I mean, she is a good person, but there are certain instances where she acts cold, but more to herself than something she outwardly expresses. Besides, they're really short instances.

But you get the feeling that she could be ruthless if she wanted; and in some aspects, she is. Like 'Oh I'm just crushing these things out of existence' with a cold expression as if it were nothing special. Her battle theme in Urban Legend in Limbo is badass, and I think it's because it represents that scarcely-seen cold, ruthless side of Kasen; its more emotional parts represent her as a whole. She's very mysterious, since you don't really know all that much about her, so I imagine her backstory would be really interesting. Anyway, I was planning on the first scene being about other great characters (Touhou is full of great characters), but that scene wasn't very good so suddenly, Kasen came to mind. With that, I decided to make her see the shrine and, well, she suspected the worst. You can't blame her for that though: it's pretty amazing how optimistic everybody else is being about the ordeal.

While Wild and Horned Hermit never makes Shinmyoumaru meet Kasen despite the fact that Shinmyoumaru lives at Reimu's for a while, I assumed they would know each other. In Urban Legend in Limbo, Shinmyoumaru thinks she's really suspicious and, ahem, I wonder why (*cough*SheMustTotallyBeAnOni*cough*Issun-BoshiKilledOne*cough*); I wanted to portray that too. Shimyoumaru is so cheeky and childish, it's sort of strange to write when you're constantly with casual, easygoing characters. In the end, the scene might seem pointless since we all know Reimu's missing, but its purpose is more to tell you how stuff is going in Gensokyo when it comes to the incident at hand, and the reaction of the Youkai Mountain people specifically to it. It's not going all that swiftly... If only Reimu were there to threaten everyone :P

The Touhou side is really moving forward though, and that's awesome to me since I love writing these Touhou characters. I mean, I get nervous too since they're such great characters, but I do love writing them a lot. At first, when Reimu meets Sans, I got stuck; I didn't know what I wanted with the conversation. Then, I re-wrote it and everything became fine, especially since Sans decided to explain stuff to Reimu. His advice is pretty sound, but Reimu just wants to hurry along Waterfall! Look where that got her... XD I personally think Sans and Reimu can get along because Sans can just take her stuff in stride and Reimu can't actually hate anyone. Besides, they're both pretty lazy. Either way, Sans is being a total bro and it's great since Reimu needs to learn her stuff from somewhere if she's not willing to see everything.

I was somewhat looking forward to Mad Dummy, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized Reimu wouldn't get much from them. After all, Mad Dummy is... Mad. They're not in the mood to listen to anything, and they won't provide anything in particular beyond their ramblings because of this. Seriously, you end up fighting them more because they wanted your soul than because they wanted vengeance. So, I decided we didn't need to see the battle between Reimu and Mad Dummy, mostly because it'd also be a pretty short battle too. After all, Reimu's attacks aren't entirely physical, so she can damage Mad Dummy. Frisk can't damage the ghost in-game because they only use physical attacks, while Reimu's weapons are made to damage youkai, who are weak to spiritual attacks.

Basically, Mad Dummy never had a chance ^^' This made me cut to Seija! I thought I wasn't going to write a scene with Seija since it'd be kind of pointless, but then I found a good point for it. My initial plans for a Seija scene, if there was ever going to be one, was to have her reaction to the incident and how that totally delays Impossible Spellcard. But yeah... That'd be boring. Then, I decided I wanted a scene where I'd showcase just what exactly Nue is doing to 'help' Marisa. Originally, the target was going to be Kokoro, but I found it hard to place her anywhere since I don't actually know her main place of activity. Due to that, I had to give up on Kokoro and immediately, Seija popped to mind.

... And that scene was written. Oh, it was great. Its purpose is to let us know that youkai will always be youkai and that Nue's help isn't exactly the best Marisa could get, but I also liked writing Seija a lot. Seija is the kind of character that's always portrayed as greatly one-note. With this, I mean that out of all the Seija fics I read, most had Seija literally go like, "Oh yeah, I like what other people don't and hate what people like!" You know, because everyone announces their own character traits, it just seems so three-dimensional, don't you think? Overall, I see Seija portrayed as if she had no individuality, or that the character trait mentioned above was her individuality, meaning that Seija doesn't even have motives or goals or anything of her own. It was sad. After all, she isn't written this way in the games. She has individuality. She does things according to her own goals.

With that in mind, I decided to portray her in the same way. You know, without blatantly shouting out the opposites part. An amusing part about Seija is that she speaks in a rough way, but it's the rough way you'd imagine some old guardsman speak like or something XD So she ain't like Marisa, who speaks in a boyish, rough manner. Seija also thinks mostly of what'll benefit her, and can be quite manipulative. Besides, she's a talkative sort who wants things her way... and things can't go her way with Reimu around. Naturally, Seija doesn't want Reimu to be found, and isn't willing to join Marisa's Search Party. Meanwhile, Nue...

Well, Nue's such a youkai. As I said in the previous chapter, Nue is surprisingly less conniving than Mamizou, and has a more fun-loving feel to her. Really, she just wants to do her thing, and even when she is on your side, what she does while on it is often misguided since... she does her own thing (and she's a youkai, so what were you expecting?). She doesn't like it when her true form is exposed, so she didn't really like Seija using her powers on her. I made Seija see a cube of abyssal darkness because it was the opposite of a ball of light, by the way XD Anyway, Nue seems like she's more simple-minded than Mamizou, but plenty mischievous, confident and proud. She knows that she's the type of youkai you don't mess with. She seems more of a jolly type too, but not in the cheerful sense. It's just that she's the fun-loving sort. I like Nue's personality, to be honest. I'm basing it off of the games and her appearance in Forbidden Scrollery, and it came out rather nicely.

Anyway, I liked that scene, especially because we all know they were going to fight, and the last lines are really reminiscent of lines you'd hear from the opponent in a Touhou game ^^ And all of this is because Reimu's missing, oh Reimu... Speaking of her, she's just getting really confused about the scriptures, huh? It'll be a while before she gets to the conclusion that these monsters aren't really youkai. Though I loved that Reimu was exploring all these places, I'm not all that confident about her interactions with Shyren and Onionsan: I get nervous about the minor characters because I'm really afraid of screwing them up... Onionsan seemed really chipper but depressed about their circumstances in the game, so I tried to get that desperate tone across. Meanwhile, Reimu would never bother singing to Shyren or anything, so nothing in particular could be done in that battle.

The only interaction beyond the one with Sans that I liked was with the star monster, as in, that one who asks you about the stars XD Honestly, I was more amused with her interactions with the different environments than with the monsters this time around: from the last chapter with the echo flowers to the umbrella stuff, Waterfall is pretty fun when it comes to its areas. Oh, and you must be wondering about that glorious billboard XD It's, of course, a billboard of Mettaton promoting his movie... and that's all I'll say about it. Beyond the fact that it's fabulous, that is ^^ Just picturing it makes me laugh... Anyway, I confirmed Flowey was stalking Reimu in the last chapter, but Reimu caught him now. Sucks that he wouldn't show himself because I would've liked to write Flowey...

Oh, and it seems like there are no deleted sentences that were funny, so yeah. None of that's here so, uh... Look forward to the next chapter? It'll have more Waterfall, and maybe we might reach Hotland!


	8. Chapter 8

**First Words:**

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 **peachlemonade - Hello! :D And you're welcome...? And thank you again omg I still find it hard to believe there are over a hundred people into this X.X Since I don't have a fixed schedule, it's only natural you would have a harder time checking for updates from my story; I'm sorry about that. Just with this one, I took like, one month... Oh, and the title of the last Chapter is 'The Downfall of Reimu' because it depicts Reimu wanting to get to the king's castle without making detours, only for that hastiness to result in Reimu ending up all the way back to Sans; therefore, that attitude is her downfall as she didn't progress. I didn't think it'd be hard to understand, but maybe it's just me... ^^' Oh, Mettaton was an experience, though maybe more for me than Reimu herself, to be honest. One can only know what'll happen when the next chapters come out! Yeah, it's a bummer how this website doesn't allow links: I got a guest review giving me fanart and the link was all messed up ;_; I'm pretty sure I took that one spellcard from the Grimoire of Marisa (pretty sure the spellcard appears in Touhou 7.5?): she describes it as "unusual heavylifting for Reimu" lol but it felt more fitting than her drawing out a harder spellcard. Whatever the case, thank you very much for your input yet again!**

 **b-wolf95 - OMG THOUGH You really got me at first... and then I looked at the username and the date and realized the joke. ^^' Though I understand your point, I actually preferred it that way because I felt like Reimu could use some exploration of Waterfall. Besides, an action or two from the last chapter ends up having importance to this one, so the fact that they're related in this way would technically not make it filler. And it isn't detrimental to the story's pacing because the story is short to begin with. Basically, as long as it's fun and doesn't hurt anything technically, I think it's fine, so I had it be a thing ^^ However, I do get where you're coming from. Reimu did end up all the way back at Sans at the end, after all. Hmmm... With Asriel's normal form, you mean his Flowey one or his original one? I can agree with you on the former, but the latter's a little more doubtful to me. And yeah hahaha, it'd be way troublesome getting Yuuka so other methods seem better in my eyes ^^ Anyway, thank you very much for reviewing, as always!**

 **Guest - What I'll say to that is that I am also looking forward to writing that moment; it's something I've pictured over and over in my mind. The charm of Touhou lies exactly on the fact that the supposed villains of the games are mostly people who aren't completely evil or have certain circumstances, and while Flowey kinda falls into the latter, it's not really in the way you'd be used to in Gensokyo. One can only wonder what will become of Reimu when having to actually face Asgore and Flowey. Actually, Reimu has killed things before: it's not a common thing, but Forbidden Scrollery did portray Reimu for real killing youkai twice or so, meaning that she is capable of this action if she finds it to be warranted for the protection of the balance of Gensokyo. Even so, it wouldn't be a decision she takes lightly; at least, if I look back on where these instances are portrayed, it would seem this way. Her reaction would be interesting indeed. She does mostly let the youkai go, after all. She's more of a pacifist than people give her credit for lol Hmmm... I wouldn't say Flowey and Reimu are similar enough for a parallel to be formed between them. While Reimu finds pride in her duties and acts from them, what motivates Flowey is a search for new excitement within a world he has completely experienced through time manipulation. Their mentalities are vastly different, and what views they carry for themselves are different as well. I personally believe Reimu is far too determined to succumb to evil, counterpart pushing her into it or not. She would probably wear an easygoing smile and blast through all opposition in a straight line, without a single sign of hesitation. Or something like that. Reimu is amazing in that regard. Well, whatever the case, thank you very much for reviewing!**

 **Number One Fan - I took care of this on Deviantart beforehand, but I'll just say thank you anyway! Thank you very much!**

Since the last chapter, this story got 11 favorites and 19 followers, which is still waaaay awesome! Due to personal circumstances, I was rather late with this chapter, but surely you can forgive me... right? Right? ;_; It's unlikely for me to suddenly give up on the story since I'm so close to finishing it: I estimate that this story will end at around 13 chapters, and I've got the ninth chapter written already. It just wouldn't make sense giving up, you know? Whatever the case, I'll go ahead and say that whatever archaic words appear in this chapter will most likely not hinder the reading experience. I haven't made a completely realistic (as in, even changing the whole sentence structure) portrayal of the way of speaking due to wanting it to be understandable and me not having the English skills necessary for it; hopefully nothing regarding this makes you cringe too hard ^^' Also, I will be referencing Symposium of Post-Mysticism, which is a Touhou book, in a way. You should definitely read it, just saying. It's worth it, man.

Whatever the case, enjoy!

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 **Chapter 8: Through Waterfall's Remnants Towards The Blazing Hotland**

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It is from breathing in the somewhat toxic air of the Forest of Magic that Marisa truly feels at home (not a pleasant feeling, the more she thinks about it). After all, that's precisely what the forest is. Marisa resides in a modest house within the forest, and also runs a magic shop (its specific services, however, are unknown); it's as deserted as expected. The forest is not a location humans tread through, seeing as it is a dangerous area with hazardous gases wafting about; not even most youkai find solace in here.

With that in mind, Marisa is now traversing the forest in search for another house, one apart from her own. Despite the Forest of Magic being fairly dangerous, there is still someone else taking residence within... Though technically, she is not human. _If I have to ask someone to look for Reimu with me, it'd have to be her._ After all the times Alice has called her to solve incidents, Marisa only finds it appropriate to ask for her help this time around. _Besides, she'd have a much easier time findin' Reimu with all those dolls of hers..._

"Heave..." Marisa hears a familiar voice from what seems to be a nearby boulder; its tone is calm, though slightly strained. Marisa shifts her focus to it, admittedly confused and curious as to why she could hear a voice coming from a mere rock.

"Ho!" Immediately after hearing a different familiar voice completing what the other had said, Marisa sees the boulder being slightly pushed off of its position, making way for two hermits she has definitely met before.

... Despite seeing familiar faces, Marisa is still curiously processing the fact that they seemingly came out of a boulder. "Greetings," Miko says in a polite, though confident manner as she dusts off her clothes and steps away from the boulder. Following suit is Futo, who serves under her; she remains silent so as to allow Miko to speak. "I would like to address the incident you've supposedly encharged yourself with. Surely that would be no trouble for you."

Despite Miko's surprisingly conversational smile and the overall dignified appearance of Futo and her, Marisa still can't help but focus on a topic unrelated to the one Miko is introducing. "Wait, where did you two even come from?"

Miko points towards the boulder. "There is a crack on that boulder, see?" Marisa squints her eyes and, as Miko said, there seems to be a crack on it. "It was from it that we arrived at this forest." Miko's smile widens. "Rocky as it may have seemed, we had no difficulty in appearing through such a crack so rest assured on that end."

"That boulder looked like a real pain to move though," Marisa remarks while glancing at it. Although she did notice Miko's joke, she isn't giving much thought to it.

Miko chuckles. "That is another problem entirely. Nevertheless, it was no hassle with Futo helping me."

"Even without my help, one such as you would have easily moved that rock," Futo humbly retorts, "In fact, mine aid was merely for you not to trouble yourself over a task so trivial." Futo calmly nods to herself, as if having just imagined the scenario and finding absolutely no flaws with it. Even when complimenting Miko, Futo remains slightly behind her, as if not to overshadow her in any way.

This is out of sheer respect, rather than any sort of obligation enforced by Miko. Besides, in her opinion, Miko could never be overshadowed regardless. "Putting that aside, as I assume you'll ask this even if I attempt to move on to the topic that brought me to you, I can access any point in Gensokyo through its cracks from my home in the same way I can enter my home through them."

"'Tis but a simple hermit technique," Futo adds.

"Exactly." Miko smirks, as if amused. "Perhaps you remember me telling you that my home is a space I created, separate from Gensokyo?" The symposium is something Marisa remembers quite well... especially the ending.

Reimu is scary when she's angry. "So that's how you go from one place to another... No wonder no one can bother you in your home," Marisa thoughtfully says, "People'd feel so cramped in those cracks it'd be impossible to go in. Definitely a hard-to-reach place, I'll give ya that." Acknowledging that this topic is completely unrelated to what Miko even came over for, Marisa decides to get to the point despite finding the wonders of hermit arts rather interesting. "Anyway, you went all the way over to me to ask about the incident?"

Miko's demeanor becomes more serious now that the conversation is about the incident. "Yes," Miko replies, "Though I have heard it from Seiga, I wanted you to confirm what she reported."

"Seiga?" Marisa questions, somewhat surprised at Miko mentioning her name. "Did she check the mountain or somethin'?"

 _The new mountain's really makin' everyone get all jumpy..._ Perhaps if the new location had simply been a small area, there wouldn't have been as many people bothered with it. However, what appeared in Gensokyo is a whole mountain; it's impossible to ignore. "Actually, she overheard you talking about it in the Myouren Temple."

"She eavesdropped on me?" _Now that I think about it, I did hear something laughing after I had that conversation with Mamizou... Was that actually her?_ While Marisa opted to conclude it had come from someone else talking in the temple, it seems the faint chuckle she heard actually came from Seiga Kaku.

"Indeed," Miko responds. "She did it of her own accord, so I naturally had no part in it." While Seiga is an ally of Miko, Miko no longer wishes to associate herself with her actions. This is due to Seiga's wicked nature, one Miko herself does not condone.

"That's sorta creepy..." Marisa remarked while having the mental image of Seiga always watching her in her head. "But if she told you Reimu's gone and I'm looking for her, then she's telling the truth."

"I figured this was the case," Miko admits, though her serious expression implies that the fact she is right doesn't make her all that happy. "But it seems rather strange for someone like the Hakurei shrine maiden to go missing at such a time without the possibility of the mountain's population having done it. After all, Reimu supposedly never arrived at the mountain, correct?"

"Yup. Everyone I've talked to haven't seen her there at all, and they had to really explore the place." At least, Marisa assumes Sanae had to go through all of the mountain to solve the incident: that's how it usually works with them. "So, I guess if anyone did anything to Reimu, they'd have to be from Gensokyo."

Miko narrows her eyes thoughtfully. "Seeing as Reimu must have gotten plenty of grudges from her duties, that doesn't leave us with many leads..."

"Wherefore would the perpetrator choose to take the shrine maiden on precisely at the time of the incident? Surely her disappearance would have gone unnoticed for a greater amount of time hath the personage in question done so at a time of peace, in which she would have been inactive," Futo says with the intention of aiding Miko's investigation.

"In the end, I'd probably notice since I go to the shrine all the time," Marisa counters, "Now that I think about it, maybe it's because we could blame it on the mountain's population if it happened at the same time as the incident. Besides, it's weirder for Reimu not to be at the shrine when an incident's not happening than when it is: most people would just assume she's solvin' it; it wouldn't raise much suspicion."

"If the perpetrator's intent were to frame the mountain's population, it would only make sense to assume they want to start a war. After all, even if she doesn't have a stellar reputation, Reimu is one of the most important figures in Gensokyo, as far as I know." Miko doesn't specify more than that, as she knows Marisa and Futo can comprehend the implications of her words.

A war in the already somewhat small territory of Gensokyo would be devastating for its balance. "Y'know," Marisa utters, "There's always the possibility of there being no culprit to catch. What if Reimu had an emergency somewhere else? Even someone like Reimu would abandon an incident if something even more serious were happening. She might even be lost somewhere right now instead."

"That would admittedly be quite the coincidence," Miko comments. "Usually, these cases tend to be something far more sinister."

Marisa shrugs. "It's not like we have any proof. Anything could've happened to Reimu, as far as we know. Assuming someone's tryin' to start a war might just make sense, but there's no point if nothing's supporting it." Knowing her next words aren't very pleasant, Marisa smiles wryly. "Besides, I'd rather not think Reimu got done in."

As if sympathizing with Marisa, Miko smiles in such a manner as well. "An understandable stance." Futo nods, agreeing with Miko's words. "However, it's because we have no evidence that we must be prepared for any situation. As you said, anything could have happened to Reimu, so we must also accept that the more severe hypotheses are not out of the realm of possibility."

"You don't have to tell me that," Marisa says, "It's not like I didn't know already."

"Such promising words," Miko amusedly remarks from the fact that Marisa's reaction to her statements was not positive, as she is clearly frowning at her at the moment. "Well, no matter. Even if we lack evidence now, rest assured: I have taken it upon myself to investigate Reimu's disappearance. You were gathering a search party, correct?"

"What, you wanna join?" Marisa questions. "I was actually going to ask someone else right now, but I take what I can get."

... Futo smirks, but remains silent so Miko can continue to freely speak. "Oh, it isn't me who will join your search party. I will be conducting my own investigation on the matter; my focus won't be on retrieving Reimu. Instead, I have decided to entrust Futo with that task." Miko motions to Futo, who takes it as her cue to step forward.

"'Tis for that very reason I stand before thee. I shall see to it thy search yieldeth only the most successful of results!" Futo confidently announces, hoping to look as reliable as possible.

"So Futo's gonna join?" Marisa smiles. Then, she shrugs. "Alright. I did say I take what I can get."

Futo narrows her eyes as she leans to the side. "Impliest thou that my help specifically is only being accepted out of desperation?" Despite having a cheerful smile on her face, her eyes do not display the same demeanor on her.

"Well, desperate times, you know?" Marisa mischievously retorts, wanting to tease Futo.

"We shall see about that," Futo replies, "Especially when I happen upon the shrine maiden before thee."

"Nah," Marisa utters, "We'll probably stay blind because that sure ain't gonna happen."

Miko snickers, amused by this interaction. "Hopefully you remember that you are supposed to be a party." She isn't particularly worried about this, and simply wanted to joke around with the situation. If it had truly been a serious problem, Miko would have actually intervened in an equally serious manner.

"Don't worry about it, Miko." Marisa points at Futo. "If she does anything out of line, I'll stop her for sure."

"The likelihood of any nefarious behavior from my part is the equivalent to that of thy clothing being comprised of glittering yellow hues," Futo argues.

"That's not impossible, now is it?"

"Wouldst thou ever do it?"

"Would _you_?"

"Attemptest thou to avoid the topic at hand?"

" _Would_ you wear your outfit in glittery yellow though? Now I'm curious."

"I will only respond after thee."

Miko ends up chuckling, amused once more at how Marisa and Futo seem to be getting along (poorly). "If you are both like this before you even start looking for Reimu, I can only wonder how it will be like when you do start your search."

Futo immediately shifts her focus to Miko. "Worry not, Crown Prince! This is naught but harmless banter."

"It might just escalate to a duel, but you don't need to worry about that either," Marisa adds, "It'll also be pretty harmless."

Futo confidently nods. "As you can see, we are even agreeing with one another at present."

"Then I'll leave you to your own devices," Miko says, "I wouldn't want to get in the way of such a friendly duo, after all. I hope the next time I see you, you will have already retrieved Reimu safe and sound." With that, rather than leaving from a crack in the area, Miko flies for the sky, possibly heading for the mountain; they cannot be too sure. What Marisa and Futo do know is that Miko is sure to be able to succeed with her investigation.

... After a few moments of silence, Futo speaks up: "Hast not thou spoken of getting someone else to join our search? Who is this individual, if I may inquire?"

"The person I was getting for the search party? She's Alice: she's got creepy dolls all over the place," Marisa casually explains, though she is trying to convey the poorest image of Alice possible.

"... Was this Alice fellow truly thy first choice?" Futo asks, figuring other people must have rejected Marisa beforehand.

"Yup," Marisa replies, "As payment."

"For what, pray tell?"

"For my youkai extermination services." Marisa smirks. "Because the hot springs were just not enough; she did work to stop 'em at the time, after all." It has been a few years since then, but Marisa still remembers this rather well.

Futo blinks twice in a row. "Hot springs...?"

"You don't know about the hot springs? I feel for ya now." With the incident caused by the Moriya shrine involving the Old Hell, hot springs also emerged... along with a dangerous stream of vengeful spirits. However, Marisa's focus will always be on the hot springs.

"I may visit them someday," Futo remarks, "It hath truly been a long time since I have been in a hot spring."

"It hasn't been that long since I've been in them but I'll visit them someday too." Marisa seems especially cheerful after saying that, which Futo can only blankly regard. "This is no time to be distracted though. We've got to search for Reimu."

Immediately, Futo says in return, "Thou speakest as if I have been the one providing the distractions." In her perspective, Marisa has been the one seemingly working to slow down their progress, so Futo does not appreciate Marisa's words in the slightest. However, she is only wearing a quizzical, though slightly peeved expression on her face.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to know whether I'd wear this outfit in glittery yellow." Marisa glances to the side. "Which I admittedly wouldn't, by the way."

"Thou wantedest to know about my clothing more than I about thine own!" Futo glances to the side as well. "I would naturally never present myself in such a color, if thou still wishest to know."

Marisa frowns, realizing they're at a standstill. "Then don't bring that up in the first place."

However, to Futo, it seemed as though Marisa is showing weakness, so she smirks. "Wert not thou worried about getting distracted? Mine imagination may be at play here, but it seemeth as though thou art the cause of our delay."

"Definitely your imagination, since I'm pretty sure you're the one who's been delaying everything." Marisa points at herself with her thumb and give her a confident smile, though the sparks carried through it are rather visible. "Besides, I'm the leader; I can't delay my own operation."

"Oh-ho? Art not thou mistaken? The leader hath not yet been decided," Futo states as if this were common sense, looking smug while doing so as if to further taunt Marisa. "At the very least, I heard not of thee as my leader."

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

... Both assume fighting stances.

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 **. . .**

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Meanwhile, Sans managed to stop Reimu from venting her frustrations on him... though the monster near the room with the illegible scriptures wasn't so lucky. It was more than obvious Reimu wanted to beat something up simply because she felt like it, so it was already miraculous that Sans got away unharmed. However, it seems that it came at the price of the suffering of another, completely innocent monster. "sorry, buddy. didn't think you'd get the short end of the stick there."

As Sans gives the monster a hot dog so it can recover, Reimu is already flying towards the other side of the shore, where the duck-like monster is depressingly standing at. Its despair is so great that even Reimu notices and gets curious about it as she lands next to the monster. "What's wrong you with you?"

The duck monster gazes into Reimu's eyes intently. However, since Reimu is no duck, she simply becomes more confused with its behavior.

... The duck-like monster quacks while flapping its wings, but even that somehow seems depressing. It then looks towards the shore to the other side with longing eyes; Reimu crosses her arms. "Can't you fly to the other side yourself with those wings?"

As if having given up on Reimu entirely, the duck-like monster shifts its gaze to the ground, saddened. Noticing this clear loss of hope, Reimu scowls, feeling almost as if its current mood is supposedly her fault. Reimu sighs. "Fine..."

Immediately as the duck-like monster looks up at Reimu, eyes conveying sheer hopefulness, Reimu proceeds to pick it up. Seeing as she was already carrying her Purification Rod and Nice Cream, Reimu has an admittedly uncomfortable hold on it, the monster having only been secured from the fact that she is holding it by its body rather than its tiny legs.

It's precisely when Reimu starts floating to the other side that the duck monster quacks uncontrollably while shifting in Reimu's grasp. "W-what's up with you all of a sudden?!" She decides to pick up her speed and drops the monster off right when she lands on shore. In the distance, the monster that asked Reimu about stars can no longer be seen; it presumably left the area.

Somewhat panicked, the duck-like monster looks around. The surroundings are naturally familiar to it, but the fact that anyone would bring it to them was unimaginable before so it is currently bewildered, unsure of what action to take. "Geez... If I knew you were going to act like that, I would never have brought you in the first place." _What an ungrateful duck..._ Seemingly amused, a certain skeleton watches a moody Reimu from the distance before disappearing without a trace; Reimu does not take notice of this.

Instead, she simply floats towards the other side of the shore yet again, hoping to find her way to the king's castle this time around. At least, Reimu already knows one of the paths leads her all the way back to Sans's previous position, so she has her choices narrowed down to four: the one leading her to 'Hotland', and the other leading to 'Blook Acres', while two others next to the latter are undefined.

Before she manages to think of which path to take, Reimu spots a figure in the distance floating towards her left. It seems to be almost completely white in color, and they oddly remind Reimu of... _A ghost...!_ Out of sheer shrine maiden-related impulses (exterminate all ghosts), Reimu dashes in the ghost's direction. "Hold it right there!"

The ghost flinches as they halt their movement, startled with the sudden loud voice calling out. "Where do you think you're going?!" Reimu questions as the ghost turns around.

"well... i was going to my house..." the ghost quietly responds, seemingly nervous. "um... if you dont mind me asking..." Reimu gives the ghost an expectant look, slightly surprised at the fact that they want to ask a question. "who are you...?"

... Though she didn't expect the question, Reimu smirks. "I'm a shrine maiden that even scares ghosts into submission."

 **. . .**

The ghost remains silent for a few moments, as if processing Reimu's statement. Then, they glance to the side nervously. "oh..." it utters, "thats... pretty scary..."

"Only if you happen to be a troublemaker," Reimu counters, "which ghosts usually are." Since many of them hold grudges, they cause no end of trouble to the living. It's because they cause so much trouble that it's one of her duties as a shrine maiden to indiscriminately take them down (though the 'indiscriminately' part is one of Reimu's many taken liberties).

"i was just going home, so..."

... Reimu narrows her eyes and thoughtfully hums, as if suspecting the ghost. "Is that so?"

"yeah," they respond, "you can see it from here..." Since they have no hands, the ghost simply turns towards the clearly visible set of houses in the horizon, one of them presumably being their own.

"How can I be sure you're not going to go haunt someone?" Reimu crosses her arms, wondering how exactly the ghost is going to manage countering that. In general, Reimu is just looking for a fight, so it isn't like she is convinced the ghost is causing trouble. If anything, her intuition very clearly expresses the opposite.

Even so, it is part of her duties to watch out for ghosts, so she is also engaging in a conversation with them for this very purpose. "the house is empty, so its kind of impossible to do that..."

Reimu's smirk becomes more carefree in nature. "Well, if your house is so empty, you must have nothing to do there." A thought occured to Reimu, one that will probably help her immensely.

"i—"

"So you should definitely tell me how to get to the king's castle," Reimu says, purposefully interrupting the ghost's words. The ghost notices these intentions and grows even more nervous than before.

"the... king's castle...?" they question, wondering about Reimu's motives. However, they do not have the courage to ask anything further.

Reimu nods. "Exactly. You'd know where it is, since you're from these parts."

"anyone in the underground would know something like that..." For a moment, Reimu is confused, but then comes to the realization that the ghost isn't actually aware of the fact that Reimu is human. _It's only natural for me to be suspected that way._ "so you didnt have to ask me... but then again, it looks like you have something against ghosts..." Even so, Reimu doesn't really care for justifying herself as long as she can fulfill her goals, so she doesn't comment about this. "oh no, maybe im being bullied..."

"Huh?" Reimu immediately utters, slightly surprised at the ghost's words.

"oh no, i didnt even notice i was being bullied..."

"and i just made all of this get awkward because i didnt even notice..."

Faintly noticing the ghost becoming more and more transparent, Reimu's eyebrows furrow in anger. "Wait!" _It's fading away!_

"oh no..." But, to their surprise, they are stopped from disappearing by tangible objects colliding with them. Looking down at themself, they spot strange, red and white papers: Reimu's amulets.

The ghost finds themself flinching at the strange stinging pain the amulets are inflicting on them. "w-wha..."

Reimu huffs. "I told you to wait, didn't I?" Reimu picks up the Nice Cream she dropped to throw the amulets and brandishes her Purification Rod at the ghost. "When I told you I could even scare ghosts into submission, I was serious." Reimu smirks. "So you better not try to run away from me without telling me where to go, you hear me?"

"ow..." the ghost mutters, still processing the fact that they managed to feel pain from something, especially something tangible. The amulets on the ghost, after exhausting their spiritual energy, end up phasing through them and gently falling on the ground like any other piece of paper; the ghost looks at this in a mix of fear and wonder. "im... im sorry... i guess it was rude of me to just leave..."

"You got that right!" It was also more than rude of Reimu to attack the ghost, but if they don't mention this, Reimu will certainly not do so either. "Now, tell me how to get to the king's castle!"

"ok..." Despite still finding the fact that Reimu doesn't know where the king's castle is to be suspicious, the ghost has even less courage to ask about it now that they know she can actually damage them. "when you go to hotland, youll have to go a few floors up until you find the... the mtt resort," the ghost quietly explains, "in the mtt resort, there's an elevator that can bring you to the capital... the castle is over there."

"Huh..." Reimu thoughtfully utters. "What's an elevator?"

The ghost says nothing for a few moments. "you... dont know what an elevator is?"

"I wouldn't be asking you otherwise, would I?" Reimu retorts, frowning at the fact that the ghost is doubting her, even if it's justified.

"i guess..." the ghost weakly responds, still wondering if Reimu is just telling them a joke or not. "uh, an elevator is like... a way of transportation that can carry you up and down floors faster than stairs... and you just have to press a button and be in the room. i think... i never needed to use them before, but every other monster does to get to the capital..."

 _So they're like a replacement for stairs that you can ride on and get automatically taken up and down floors? This place's technology really is different compared to Gensokyo. But still, I think I get the idea. If someone can take an elevator, it's probably something you have to get inside of._ Having a good idea of the ghost's description and now knowing a path to the king's castle, Reimu smiles. "Alright; I got it." Looking to the side, however, Reimu finds herself pointing at a path to her left. "But where does this lead to? The sign didn't say anything about that path." While she can assume the other path not mentioned by the sign is the path to the ghost's house (as she can see it from a distance), she cannot fathom what the last path would lead her towards. After all, the sign only says that the 'Blook Acres' are in its direction, but Reimu assumes the sign is referring to only one of the three paths laid out before her.

"oh, that's... undyne's house..." Reimu's eyes widen slightly.

"Undyne's house?" This new piece of information leaves her admittedly curious.

Meanwhile, the ghost is wondering what is so surprising about the fact that Undyne's house is located in Waterfall. "yeah..."

Seeing as Reimu no longer has any uses for the ghost and she can tell they want to leave the area badly, she says, "Well, thanks for helping, I guess. You can go now, but don't cause any trouble, got it?"

"i wont..."

With that, the ghost finally fades away, the only proof of them having been present being the amulets on the ground. Reimu faces the path to Undyne's house. _So Undyne's house is that way, huh..._ "I'm kind of curious." _I'll go check it out for a bit._

While she doesn't want to waste too much time, Reimu feels the need to see for herself where exactly Undyne happens to live. After checking that, Reimu notes, she will immediately move on to Hotland, where progress supposedly awaits her. _For the place to be called 'Hotland', it must be pretty hot, huh? I hope it won't be too hot, since that'll be a bother..._ With such thoughts and a frown on her face, Reimu comes across a rather odd building.

It seems to be a house practically shaped as a fish; it's comprised of various blue hues and even looks almost like it has scales. Reimu gives this habitation a blank look. "This is Undyne's house, alright..." _I don't think it could've been made more obvious than this._ The house stands out so much that only after a few minutes does Reimu look at the rest of the surroundings, which are nothing but dark rock walls... until she sees something familiar.

A training dummy lies near Undyne's house, and Reimu is certain this is the same dummy she has fought. They may not have the strange teeth anymore, but the plain look of the dummy only makes her conclude it is the dummy she fought at the garbage dump; they are staring at Reimu intently. "What are you doing here?" Reimu asks with a neutral expression on her face.

Mad Dummy flinches slightly. "What. What?! WHAT?! That's MY question, human!"

Reimu smiles mischievously as she narrows her eyes. "So I'm the suspicious one when you're hanging around someone's house? I'd say you have more explaining to do than me."

"This is where I live! You're the intruder in this situation!" Mad Dummy irritatedly counters, "So I'm OBVIOUSLY the one who should be asking what you're doing here!" Reimu is unfazed by Mad Dummy's words, which serves to annoy them further. "If it's a rematch, don't bother! I'm not stupid enough to fight you a second time!"

Reimu shrugs. "I didn't come for you at all, but okay."

"So you came for Undyne? She's out of commission right now! She got defeated. Beaten! ANNIHILATED!" Mad Dummy responds, "Meaning that, luckily for you, she can't take your soul just yet!"

... Mad Dummy's confident speech only makes the irony that much sweeter. "I was the one who beat her, you know?" Reimu really can't help but smirk at this situation.

"WHAT?! YOU beat Undyne?!" they question, shocked from the information given by Reimu. While they would have liked to assume Reimu is lying, they can't see any proof otherwise, especially when she has such a proud expression on her face. Mad Dummy grows slightly nervous... "Ugh, no wonder you were basically impossible to kill... Dodged a bullet there."

"I'd say you got hit pretty hard by it; at least, that's what I remember." She hadn't even used a very difficult spellcard, but the dummy still managed to lose. Reimu couldn't help but reference this loss due to the well-timed remark involving bullets. "I could always fight you again." This is naturally said just to tick Mad Dummy off for their obvious cowardly thoughts, but it still isn't a lie to say such a thing. If she has to, she can always take them down again.

In fact, Reimu would have a rather easy time at it. "Don't. Don't! DON'T!" Mad Dummy immediately shouts, reminding themself of the terrifying sight that is a giant orb almost crushing them. "I-I don't want your soul anymore! I've avenged my cousin enough just by fighting you!"

"If you say s—"

The door to Undyne's house suddenly opens, interrupting Reimu's easygoing words and making her face said door with sheer curiosity. Meanwhile, Mad Dummy's reaction is non-existent, as if they could never speak in the first place. Naturally, the one to appear from the door to Undyne's house is Undyne, and she seems angry. "What are YOU doing here? Haven't you humiliated me enough with your almost flawless victory?" She narrows her eye at a curious-looking Reimu.

"Listen to me," Undyne spitefully utters, "I don't wanna see your face _EVER_ again, much less have you cause a racket in front of my house by talking to a training dummy. You don't have any business here. You've got better things to do. And if you DON'T do them... My loss... Your victory..." Undyne can barely bring herself to say the word 'victory'. "It'll be meaningless." Undyne's scowl manages to be deepened further. "The LAST thing I'd want is for that fight to be meaningless. If you're more determined than me, than everyone's hopes and dreams... You're gonna leave this place, no questions asked! You're gonna reunite with your people! You're gonna keep the peace there better than **ANYONE,** you hear me?! Because otherwise... I will strike you down, punk. I won't lose the next time around."

... Reimu frowns, only mildly irritated with Undyne despite the harsh words. "Don't tell me the obvious. Not that you'd actually beat me, because there's no way I'd ever give up going back home. For someone that frustrated, you sure aren't asking me for any rematch; you're letting me off the hook pretty easily," Reimu remarks, actually having thought Undyne would want a rematch out of Reimu.

"I'd end up losing again if I did that now," Undyne responds with ease, though she looks slightly disheartened, her gaze wry in emotion. It still does frustrate her, the fact that she lost to Reimu... "No, I'll have to become stronger before I challenge you again. I'll have to be more determined. Determined enough to overcome any obstacle, no matter how tough it might be. I will only go take you down after I'm completely sure I've accomplished that. Until then, there's no point in facing you."

"I'll be out of here before you can manage that, you know?" Reimu counters, skeptical of Undyne's words. _If anything, I'll probably be dead from old age before she can even get to my level._

Such hard work just seems pointless to Reimu. However, Undyne actually smirks from Reimu's reaction; it leaves her curious as to why that is. "Yeah, but by the time we monsters finally break the barrier, you bet I'll be strong enough to take you down. When I leave for the surface, I'll find you and get that rematch if it's the last thing I'll do. Got that?! You'll see how determined monsters can be then! But for now, _**GET OUT OF HERE, SHRINE MAIDEN!"**_ Undyne turns around, ready to enter her house. "And don't come back!" With that, she walks inside and Reimu watches as the door closes itself with a strange noise.

Undyne is gone now. "Geez, someone's a sore loser..." Only Mad Dummy, who did not dare to speak up before, and Reimu were left; Reimu has no business with Mad Dummy. Besides, she has already seen how Undyne's house looks like, which was her reason to pass by in the first place. Having processed that, Reimu decides to walk away, this time so she can head to Hotland; Mad Dummy stays silent as they see her leave.

 _Whatever,_ Reimu thinks, _I really should be focusing on moving forward anyway._ Shrugging, Reimu arrives at that one intersection again, but this time, she knows exactly where to go. Truly, she never should have relied on logic to guide her, but on her intuition, as she'd always do. If she had done so before, she wouldn't have backtracked all the way to Sans. With that in mind, Reimu steps towards the path leading to Hotland.

Despite the sign making it seem like she is very close to Hotland, she doesn't notice any rising temperature, and what she can see in the distance seems very much like a part of this area as well. _So there's more to this place?_ Reimu notices a room to her left, and one to her right. The one to her right is clearly a dead end, seeing as she can see water from a distance. However, the room to her left seems to have a variety of items in it; she can faintly see a figure inside. _What's this room?_ She decides to inspect it.

To her surprise, she finds inside what seems to be a turtle-like monster of clearly old age. "Woah there!" It seems his left eye cannot open, and he even has a beard. A familiar turtle even now living at a pond in her shrine occurs to her. _I wonder how Gramps has been doing..._ "I've got neat junk for sale!"

"Huh? Wait, is this a shop?" Reimu asks, hoping that's the case. According to Sans, items will be very useful to her, and she needs some sort of bag to store them. Seeing as he recommended she look at a shop, this is a rather convenient situation for Reimu. _This shop better not be expensive..._ She narrows her eyes, already planning on beating up the turtle monster in front of her should he overcharge her.

Said turtle monster seems greatly amused at her question. "Wah ha ha! It sure is!" he replies, "Looking for something?" _He kind of looks like Gramps, but his personality's completely different..._ Genjii is a rather stern turtle. Whatever the case, the turtle monster in front of her successfully deducted that she wanted to buy something from a store, but this doesn't particularly faze someone as sharp as Reimu.

"I need something to carry items in." Reimu raises the Nice Cream she is holding to the turtle monster's line of sight. "I can't hold everything in my hands, after all." She tosses the Nice Cream to her other hand, which barely catches it due to the Purification Rod already there, and reveals the money she has been storing from her detached sleeve, as if that was where it has been all along. With a swift movement, she practically slams the coins onto the shop's counter. "This should be enough, right?" Reimu frowns, predicting the worst as she returns the Nice Cream to her free hand.

She grasps her Purification Rod tighter. Noting Reimu probably isn't used to doing business, the turtle monster pensively counts the G laid out on the counter, deeply humming while doing so. "Well," he utters as he takes the amount offered by Reimu. "I think I've got something you can use." Reimu's stance relaxes considerably. _I guess I won't have to beat this turtle up after all._

Reimu stares at the turtle monster as he turns around and slowly walks towards an assortment of various items, some completely unknown to Reimu. "You're not going to give me some magical box, right?" Reimu asks, just in case.

"A magical box? Wahaha!" The turtle monster laughs as Reimu hears the sound of various solid objects being rummaged through. "There's enough of that lying around in the Underground! I know you just want a bag, kid."

Reimu smiles. "At least you get it." _Now that I think about it, why is no monster worried about their stuff getting stolen from those boxes? They're all out in public for everyone to use, and no one's ever stolen from them? That's doubtful..._ No longer concerned in any way about the turtle monster, Reimu finds herself idly thinking about irrelevant topics to pass the time, something she is rather content with.

Then, she hears the turtle monster say, "I've got a lot of junk, but usually everyone comes over for the food. It's rare seeing someone wanting anything other than that!" The noise of objects being rummaged through stops. "When it comes to shops, the most you see are four items for sale. It's just how we shopkeepers work! It's like tradition. If you hadn't asked, I would've recommended you that notebook and glasses over there." He points to the side, where an old notebook and unusable glasses lie in between various other oddities.

"Why would I want that?" Reimu asks, skeptical at the recommendation. _It looks more useless than some of the junk Mr. Rinnosuke comes across._ And that's saying a lot, Reimu notes.

"Because it's human stuff! And you look plenty human to me." _So he can tell..._ It'd make sense for this monster to have lived through a time when monsters weren't trapped under a barrier, so this information doesn't pique Reimu's interest to a very big extent. "It helps with your invincibility frames, too," the turtle monster replies, "I figured it'd be useful if you ever happened to get into a fight." The monster narrows his eye. "Especially one with magical spears!" He turns around and walks towards the front of the counter, seemingly holding something.

However, Reimu doesn't give that any priority (despite the fact that he is most likely holding the bag she wanted to purchase) and instead focuses on his words. "Magical spears? Then I'm pretty sure I've already taken care of that fight," Reimu proudly states.

This information doesn't faze the monster. "You beat Undyne? Wah ha ha ha! You're stronger than you look, kid! Guess that stick's not for show!" His amusement seems to come precisely from the fact that beating someone like Undyne is quite the feat, and at memories of a frustrated Undyne; he is smiling in a nostalgic manner.

"Of course!" Reimu brandishes her Purification Rod. "You'll regret it if you underestimate me!"

Gerson laughs again while placing what he was previously carrying on top of the counter. "I'll try to remember that! Can't say I won't forget the moment you leave the shop though," Gerson says, "Anyhoo, here's your bag! You can fit around 6 items in it, give and take." Reimu stares at the bag curiously: from what she can tell, the bag seems to be made out of leather, or a similar material, and it has a long strap, perfect for putting over the shoulders.

She smiles. "Thanks," she says before taking the bag without hesitation, dropping the Nice Cream inside and putting it over her left shoulder. "That's just what I wanted." While the bag has the slight smell of mold, Reimu doesn't care much for such details as she steps back. "Well, I'll be going now."

The turtle monster waves at her in a friendly manner. "Be careful out there, kid!" Just after he says that, Reimu leaves the shop with a content smile, satisfied with having completed one of her goals. _Alright, this should make things easier for me,_ she thinks as she finds herself faced with the narrow path forward.

The faint sound of rushing water can be heard, and it doesn't come from the room where Reimu did see water. Instead, it's clear the sound has its origins in the two waterfalls Reimu can see gushing in the distance, as it gets louder and louder... _It doesn't look like I'm any closer to this Hotland place,_ she mentally remarks while spotting various echo flowers around the area she has just entered: the combination of rushing water and faint whispering makes for an unsettling, lonely sound. However, the mysterious sparkles floating about convey wonder to the lonely presentation, and almost distract Reimu from the scriptures right next to her. Admittedly wanting to get to the bottom of these strange youkai, Reimu approaches the scriptures.

'Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magical spell. Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful soul can leave.'

 _Papyrus said I had a powerful enough soul to leave, but that's not true... Which beings have a soul powerful enough to get out of this place? I can only assume they aren't here._ Beings with powerful souls don't simply occur to Reimu, especially when the only souls she has come across are human souls. _I wonder if even the king knows what exactly is powerful enough to get out of here. What if only those magicians knew anything? These scriptures might be vague because of that._

Frowning at the conclusions she is reaching, Reimu advances to the next set of scriptures.

'There is only one way to reverse this spell. If a huge power, equivalent to seven human souls, attacks the barrier... It will be destroyed.'

 _I already knew seven souls were needed to break the barrier, but that isn't an option for me._ Reimu narrows her eyes. _The king of this place plans on making me the seventh soul to absorb... If he knew how to cross the barrier, he probably would've done that and taken the seven human souls right away._ She scowls. "Well, even if he doesn't know how to cross the barrier, I'll still have to beat him up..." _I can't let him roam free with the power of six human souls if he can get that strong with them._ She finds herself deep in thought, unable to let go of the grim possibilities.

Feeling that she may take longer than expected to return to Gensokyo, Reimu sighs. _There don't seem to be any signs of the king actually knowing how to cross the barrier... If push comes to shove, I really will have to tear down this barrier myself._ However, due to the sheer power embedded in the barrier, Reimu knows that this will take a few days at best; she doesn't want to take that long to return. She faces forward, coming across a waterfall: seeing a clear path laid out for Reimu, she smiles in a carefree manner, feeling somewhat refreshed and not by the water sprinkling over her. _But there's also the possibility of the king knowing how to cross, and not being able to; hope's not completely lost for me._

 _Either way..._ Reimu flies over the waterfall. _I've got to move forward!_ Spotting some scriptures to her side as she lands, she makes sure to read them as well.

'But this cursed place has no entrances or exits. There is no way a human could come here. We will remain trapped down here forever.'

... Seeing as Reimu has been able to reach the Underground, along with six humans before her, she finds herself staring blankly at the scriptures. _Who wrote these anyway? It might just be more likely that these scriptures are all wrong._ That actually manages to brighten Reimu's mood, seeing as she never got to conclude anything decent from the scriptures. If anything, she prefers thinking they are wrong so she no longer feels confused from them.

With that in mind, Reimu flies over the final waterfall in the area, and moves onward.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Meanwhile, the duel between Marisa and Futo has finally ended. "Thou..." Futo avoids gasping for air, and instead makes sure to keep a confident smile. However, it seems impossible for her to avoid at least panting from slight fatigue. "Thou hast... proven thyself verily... capable of a leading position... 'Twas quite the strife." Futo bows slightly as if to pay respects, hands tucked in each opposite sleeve. "Alas, the toxic fumes of this forest hinder my fighting prowess. I was rendered the losing party from the very beginning in comparison to thee, who takest residence in such perilous grounds."

"That's a lame excuse," Marisa remarks, but ends up smiling despite her words. "But I still can't say I don't like it." Marisa isn't well-known for always spreading the truth, after all. Her smile becomes a proud grin. "Anyway, now that I crushed the rebellion, I'm all set for leading this search party, and, as the leader, I think we ought to pay Alice a visit and get her to help us out." She winks. "Preferably by force."

"Thine ethics art questionable already..." Futo tilts her head to the side and sighs, figuring she will have a lot ahead of her by journeying with Marisa. However, she then considers that the hardships she will face may serve as another method of training as well. Now wearing a calm smile, Futo decides she must persevere in order to grow as a better hermit.

"Don't you get it, Futo? I'm honoring Reimu," Marisa states, "She'd beat everyone up. Especially Alice. Everyone wants to beat up Alice." The smirk on her face did not make Marisa convincing to Futo in the slightest.

"Holdest thou a grudge for this individual?" Futo asks, curious due to the clearly insulting words thrown at this Alice fellow.

"Huh?" For a second, Marisa seems genuinely confused. However, she immediately waves that off with a casual smile. "Nah, it's all in good fun. It's not like she minds it or anything. Totally."

Futo narrows her eyes. "Doubtful as thy words may be," Futo says while Marisa shakes her head in denial, "I shall choose to drop this subject in its entirety. Let's simply move to that fellow's location."

"Hey, I'm the leader here, so I get to say the orders." Marisa clears her throat in a slightly dramatic fashion.

 **. . .**

... After a few seconds of witnessing Futo blankly gazing at her, Marisa says, "Let's move out! To Alice's place!" Marisa points towards a direction Futo can only assume to lead to Alice's house and proudly smiles. She then gives Futo an expectant look, wanting a reaction out of her.

Knowing this, though unmotivated, Futo slowly raises her right fist to the clear Gensokyo skies and awkwardly utters, "H-huzzah..."

Marisa crosses her arms with a frown. "That was lame."

... Futo looks down at the ground in slight shame. "Verily..."

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"There you go!" Reimu exclaims just as she proceeds to extort money out of the opponents she has just spared. The gelatinous creatures both shake, but at a faster rate than normal; they are fearful of Reimu. While the smallest one is already inching away from Reimu's path, the bigger gelatinous form seems to almost be staring at her as if it possesses eyes (as far as Reimu can tell, it doesn't look like it). The way the slimy pieces of itself keep afloat and sway in unison makes it a slightly more unsettling creature than the smallest one, which was a simple shape. Despite this, Reimu is unfazed. She takes note of the leaving smaller slimy monster and huffs at the other one. "What are you looking at? You'd better not get in my way!"

It flinches before sliding away into the darkness, thoughtful of the intimidating figure it dared to face... Had it perhaps invaded her own personal space? The monster starts feeling regretful of its attack, and figures its smaller relative feels nothing for it. Try as it might, that moldsmal will never truly listen...

Meanwhile, Reimu rekindles an orb of light to guide herself through the dark area she has found herself in. She can tell these strange mushrooms she has been finding can also provide light, but finds it bothersome to look for them in an attempt to see her surroundings when she can simply go about the exploration of the area her own way.

... Though she wanted to move forward, Reimu comes across a dead end. Despite her small light source, she knows the paths are narrow and that the ceiling is low, so she refrains from flying. Instead, she turns around and comes across a yellow figure a few meters apart from her. However, before she can observe it in full detail, it burrows into the ground without a single trace; it's gone in a flash. The last she saw of it in the split second she managed to detect it with only the orb of light close to herself was an eerie smile. _That flower from the Ruins?_ "He really is stalking me..." _It can't be my imagination this time, that thing is watching over me._

 _Well, just you see, I'll put you in your place eventually._ With a smirk, she concludes that train of thought and starts walking. From the last time she had laid eyes on Flowey, Reimu knows it wouldn't yield any results calling for him, as he wouldn't appear. Perhaps the extra target of this adventure is actually the flower, Reimu amusingly notes. _It's not like that kind of thing never happened before, after all._ The path is narrow, but Reimu's eyes rest on the tiny plants loosely creeping from the dark rock that constitutes the ground Reimu is stepping on. They faintly glow a calming, aqua hue, much like most of the plants Reimu has found in the cavernous area in particular.

Though Reimu has found many strange things in her lifetime, she admittedly has never come across an area with vegetation like this; considering such things kill her boredom. The dark narrow paths, with the exception of the occasional slightly wider areas with mushrooms at their middle, do nothing but make her feel enclosed, after all. It isn't much fun to wander these sorts of roads, so she naturally would have preferred to be able to freely fly in the sky. For her incidents, that's what Reimu has always done but the Underground is a strange exception for her. Normally, she flies with a destination in mind, and even when she doesn't know where to go, she encounters an opponent flying in the air and gets them to guide her there instead. However, there seem to be no flying opponents in the Underground. Not only that, but Reimu doesn't truly know where to go.

Thanks to the ghost she found, Reimu knows she has to find a resort of sorts, but she doesn't even know how Hotland is laid out as an area to cross, so this 'incident' is a special case for her, travel-wise. The fact that she has been separated from Gensokyo may be an incident, but she isn't solving anything in the Underground, so it doesn't feel like such to Reimu. Rather, she simply feels like she is attempting to overcome present circumstances; these can't be called an incident. However, that doesn't mean that in Gensokyo, this can't be considered an incident. It also doesn't mean that Reimu has no obligation to beat any monster up, which is the most important part. After all, it seems unlikely for Reimu to think her own disappearance is making that much of a big fuss. If anything, Marisa may be looking for her.

Despite her position as the Hakurei shrine maiden, Reimu begrudgingly considers that probably not many people would even notice she's gone. Not having in mind the fact that she also wouldn't even notice the disappearance of any person, Reimu manages to finally find a passageway to a different area... Though, seeing as the narrow path seems mostly unchanged, Reimu can hardly call this a different area. The only difference is the very faintly glowing purple crystals embedded on the walls and ceiling, serving to make the path seem even more confining than before. Besides, said faint light barely illuminated the area at all; her orb emits much more light.

Before Reimu can walk around a corner, a quick flash of vibrating white passes through her. **"hOI!"** Before Reimu can even process it, she hears this loud, high-pitched greeting and sees in front of her the same screen as always.

 **'*Special enemy Temmie appears here to defeat you!'**

 _Special?_ Reimu narrows her eyes at the tiny monster she can see past the screen: with the ears of both cat and dog, Temmie is an almost unfathomable creature to Reimu. She appears to be wearing a blue sweater and is intensely vibrating in front of Reimu; her facial features vibrate out of synch with her four-legged body. _It's special, alright..._ With a shrug, Reimu assumes a serious expression and pulls out five amulets. "You'll regret picking a fight with me!"

As the amulets home in on Temmie, she clumsily moves to the side to no avail. When the amulets hit her, she tumbles on the ground; she is still vibrating regardless. "HuRTs! oWOwow!" In matter of milliseconds, Temmie is up again. "but humans r stil CUTE!" This sentence fails to even grab Reimu's attention, as she instead focuses on the abomination spawned over her soul. A very sloppily put together Temmie protrudes from the screen, as the only thing in it are long, slim legs limiting the movement of Reimu's soul. This 'Temmie' most likely does not possess a will of its own, as it seems made out of pure magical energy. Either way, its legs move slightly to right, so Reimu decides to move to the right as well, having no other choice. There seems to be no visible way to dodge this attack if the 'Temmie' on-screen is to move all the way to the right, but it seems to be moving slowly for now.

As Reimu's soul continues moving to the right, the 'Temmie' suddenly moves to the right at full speed. Surprised, Reimu draws out a trusty spellcard. **"Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal!"** The sizable orbs of light completely obliterate the on-screen 'Temmie' the moment they come into contact with it, and its remnants damage the actual Temmie as well. It's with that that Temmie's turn ends, and Reimu spares the strange opponent she came across. Temmie is actually more damaged than Reimu intended, but it at least seems she isn't going to die any time soon, especially as she is still vibrating despite the tattered sweater.

"dat's cheating! HOi!" Somehow, Temmie still has the energy to protest.

Reimu simply frowns, troubled. "Look who's talking," she retorts, "You were the one who was going to cheat! On the other hand, I just happen to be able to use spellcards in the middle of your turns, and it's not cheating!" Reimu crosses her arms, not particularly up to dealing with this monster.

"NO! i dOn'T CheAT! U cheat! u r cheats! tem's attack always fair!" Despite the protests, Temmie's expression is unchanged. Even so, it doesn't fail to slightly irritate Reimu that she is being called a cheater.

"If I could spare you, that means I won! No exceptions! It's your problem if you can't take the fact that I can do something you can't!" Reimu stretches her hand out at Temmie. "Now pay up!"

Temmie's vibrations grow much faster than before for a few seconds before she practically throws a share of her gold at Reimu. "dis human... iSn't CUTE!" Temmie runs in Reimu's direction at such speeds that Reimu doesn't process that she did move between her legs to escape. Besides, in the middle of actually grabbing the coins Temmie threw, Reimu barely had any focus on Temmie leaving to begin with.

"What a weird youkai," Reimu remarks as she tucks the money she received away and glances behind her; there are no signs of Temmie. She deviously smiles. "Sore losers are the uncute ones, you know?" Putting that aside, Reimu gets to actually moving forward in this dark, narrow area, brushing off the existence of the scriptures near a lantern fixated on a wall as she assumes it's a puzzle of sorts. She wonders if this is designed as a maze, and if the previous area was also something of the sort.

The areas seem to be laid out in such a way, as the previous one had a dead end and the only way Reimu can supposedly navigate is by the lights provided by each area. With this, Reimu finds pride in how she is cheating the system when it comes to puzzles, as they aren't battles; they're a completely different matter entirely. She reminds herself of Papyrus, who seems intent on teaching her all about the Underground. _I even ended up promising him I'd backtrack for him, what a pain..._ In hindsight, Reimu considers this a poor decision, but she would have been continuously nagged otherwise, which would have perhaps been more annoying than simply agreeing. _Well, if I find a way out, there won't be much pressure to move forward, since it's not like Marisa wouldn't have solved the incident already._

Even so, Reimu doesn't particularly care for Papyrus enough to truly want to waste her time with his shenanigans. But a promise is a promise, and Reimu doesn't feel like breaking it out of nowhere. As she thinks about Papyrus, her thoughts drift to Sans. _What's his deal?_ Even after everything had been done in Snowdin, Sans still seemed to appear before her. Reimu finds that the skeleton cannot possibly still intend to help her at this point, as a mere favor isn't worth the effort he is making to basically be at whatever general area she happens to be. If anything, Reimu suspects he might just be stalking her like Flowey is.

Reimu tempts the idea of Flowey and Sans working together, but immediately waves the thought away. After all, Flowey's motivations are cryptic and certainly don't involve anything good for Reimu, while Sans just seems to be watching over her in general. Why would he be watching over her, however? _Well, he did say it was his job to watch out for humans,_ Reimu neutrally thinks. Her musings are only so she doesn't feel bored while traversing this semi-dark maze, so she doesn't actually care about any mental inquiries she is making. The only thing that she truly finds important is to get to the king's castle, beat up anything in the way and get herself out of the Underground; simple and straightforward.

The actual thinking can be left for later. _That sign said Hotland was this way, but it still doesn't look like I'm any close to the place._ It's still as damp and dark blue as always, except more bothersome due to the lighting. Reimu's red and white clothing greatly contrasts with the whole area, but that much also cannot be seen in the darkness. Since it isn't as cold here as in Snowdin, the leg warmers are basically useless, but Reimu has gotten to a point where she doesn't even remember she has them on; they've become that natural an existence for her.

The bag she bought has also not been much of a hassle when it comes to movement either, something Reimu is rather content about. With the boredom of walking through narrow, dull, damp paths, Reimu yawns. If she hadn't gotten that nap and Sans and Papyrus's house, perhaps she would've moved onward restless. How much time has she been here for, anyway? Not even Reimu can be too sure. A few hours must have surely passed, but it wouldn't be too unlikely for a whole day to have gone by already. Journeys of this sort surely must take time to complete. Reimu has walked through a variety of areas, after all.

Though she doesn't want to waste time, she faces the inevitability of not being able to return to Gensokyo in the short time she would have wanted. With that, she decides to content herself with the straightforward goals she has already set out, as reflecting on what she can't do is completely useless in her perspective. What matters is moving forward, which she is indeed doing, in hopes of leaving this place. As she stretches her arms, Reimu finds herself facing the exit to this maze at long last. _Finally,_ she thinks while picking up her pace.

However, the next room she encounters is a dark one, yet again. If not for her orb of light, Reimu would not have been able to see this is a more open area as she walks forward. Her movements come to a halt when she finds water ahead of her, unable to see beyond it. Her surroundings are pitch black, in complete darkness. Due to this, she can't tell where to go, much less where to fly towards. With that in mind, she materializes another orb of light and shoots it forward like any other projectile.

The orb flies directly above water at fast speeds, and its light shows a path off to the side and a dead end ahead, with a single echo flower resting at its end. With that in mind, Reimu easily concludes that the left is the way to go and lifts her feet off the ground to start flying over the troublesome water, the orb of light sticking close to her so she can see at least where the ceiling is. It isn't long before she sees solid ground she can step on in such a path, but in the horizon she spots more water and figures landing would only be a hassle.

However, at least it isn't dark anymore. No longer finding any need for the orb of light, it fades away. All around her, golden specks float about. Upon close inspection (from the things practically flying straight at her face), Reimu concludes what exactly they happen to be. _Pollen?_ She assumes it's from the great amount of echo flowers rooted onto the cavernous grounds. This area, too, seems almost like a field of them, and the easily detectable wind is carrying this pollen throughout. Wind like this can only mean one thing: the next area will be outside this place; Reimu smiles.

She's almost there. The amount of echo flowers in the vicinity make for a moderately unsettling agglomerate of whispering sounds, heightening the melancholic mood of these caverns. In the midst of her flying, Reimu spots scriptures before having to turn a corner. Admittedly curious, she finds herself gently hovering near them so as to be able to read them.

'However... There is a prophecy. The Angel... The One Who Has Seen The Surface... They will return. And the Underground will go empty.'

Reimu pensively frowns. _A prophecy, huh..._ "That's got nothing to do with me," Reimu mutters before landing on the visible ground off to the side with a neutral expression. Taking the strongly blowing wind in stride, Reimu finally leaves the cavernous area and across a somewhat narrow, almost unstable-looking bridge. She decides not to risk crossing it and floats yet again, seeing in the horizon another cavernous area. _Well, I'm underground to begin with, so I guess I shouldn't have expected any more than that._ If anything, as she reminds herself of the fact that she is indeed underground, she curiously wonders how places like Snowdin even have snow anyway as she softly lands on firm ground.

Magic, perhaps? No one will ever know, and Reimu doesn't care enough to deeply consider it as she makes her way towards the grand, rocky entrance to another area. _Maybe Hotland's over there._ That would be likely, Reimu notes as she enters. A single wider path stretches out in front of her, and below it is a river: flowing through it is a huge cube of ice, which Reimu immediately associates with Snowdin and the wolf throwing the ice cubes. _I wonder where it's going,_ Reimu thinks as she walks along the path and looks below her curiously. The ice cubes must be thrown with a purpose.

Whatever it is, it must be at least mildly interesting. If Reimu were Marisa, she might have even decided to follow the ice cubes to see where they'd lead, but that happens not to be the case, so she simply keeps walking forward until she no longer can see the river. Marisa would probably have a much more enjoyable time in a place such as this in general, Reimu notes. She has no obligations, after all, and as such would just explore everything to her heart's content until she somehow finds a way out of the Underground in the process. It would be a more carefree journey.

As she turns right, she finds some sort of huge screen to the side with letters slowly sliding into view; Reimu reads them while walking. "'Welcome'... 'To'..." She smirks. "There you go," she mutters, "I'm almost there for sure now." She can already see the completely different scenery from the passageway; she can already feel the area getting slightly hotter. After all that walking through the damp caverns of Waterfall, she has finally gotten a step closer to the king's castle. The resort should be there, and so should that elevator the ghost spoke of.

It's precisely when she takes a step outside the caverns that she instantly feels the great rise in temperature on her, which makes her take note of her leg warmers. However, she still hasn't gotten exposed to enough of the heat to find them unbearable to wear. She sets her sights on her surroundings rather than worrying over such things: beyond the practically orange-tinted, heated rocks, lava is spread out like a great lake. In fact, lava is most of what she can see on her right and left; it even pours from walls. Some sort of tubes can be subtly spotted on the ceiling, though what they are connecting to is unknown. Truly, this area completely differs from Snowdin or Waterfall. What she sees ahead of her is, without a doubt... Hotland.

... And a sentry station? A sizable building can be seen in the horizon, but before even that, the bridge right in front of her connects to rocky land where a sentry station is located. Her squinted eyes can't help but blankly stare at the familiar figure standing behind the station with his usual grin.

"... Sans again?"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Meanwhile, Futo can't help but ask out loud, "Wherefore are we behind these bushes in secrecy? We set out to recruit that Alice fellow, correct?" After a while, Marisa and Futo arrived at Alice's house, but, to Futo's surprise and slight curiosity, Marisa called for a 'secret meeting'.

"Well, I'll be the one hiding here for a while, and you," Marisa says as she points to Futo, "will go knock on that door." Marisa then points at Alice's house. "For her to join our search party, we've gotta test her worth, after all."

Futo's eyes narrow as she mischievously smiles. "And honor Lady Reimu?" she questions, referencing the last excuse Marisa has made to fight Alice.

"That too." Marisa smirks. "Great that you remember."

"Lest thou losest track of thine own lies, verily so," Futo retorts with an eerily calm, devious expression of fake innocence. Marisa willfully ignores that remark and lets Futo, who is assuming a less amused expression, continue speaking. "Though I would like to assume otherwise, wantest thou to have me duel whom we plan on recruiting?"

Futo is tilting her head, seemingly curious, but Marisa knows she is already aware of her answer. "Yup. You can handle her, right? If you beat her, she'll have no way of refusing us."

"'Twould be unwise to go forth with this plan," Futo immediately answers, "I decline. I know naught of this fellow, and thus believe we must act cautiously and simply request her help. We have no need for unnecessary conflict."

Marisa stares at her blankly. "We're in Gensokyo, you know...?" However, she immediately smiles afterwards. "Reimu wouldn't hesitate; she exterminates youkai in a flash."

"We are not dealing with such creatures," Futo counters, "We merely desire her cooperation."

... Marisa's smile grows into a smirk. "I guess you wouldn't have known, since I didn't tell you anything..."

Futo narrows her eyes once more, though now clearly suspecting Marisa is up to something and showing it. "What art thou implying?"

"That Alice actually isn't h—"

"That I'm actually not enough of an idiot not to notice you two sneaking around my house, right?" Both Marisa and Futo flinch and look behind them, towards the source of the voice they heard.

"Woah, how did you even get behind us, Alice?" Marisa asks, somewhat confused, surprised and curious at the same time. Meanwhile, Futo is processing that the blonde girl in front of her is Alice, the one Marisa has been berating all this time.

... She doesn't look as intimidating as Futo imagined. "I just happened to be walking back home," Alice answers, "so I caught you red-handed, that's all."

"Huh, so you went out..." _I guess sending Futo over to knock at her door would've_ really _been unwise... But why'd she go out in the first place?_ "Was it for the mountain? Everyone's been on edge over that."

Alice glances to the side, feeling slightly awkward. "Yes," she answers, "But it wasn't because I was 'on edge' over it, mind you. I happened to come across a monster from there and got curious."

"Thou must be formidable to simply enter a den of evil creatures," Futo remarks while nodding to herself. She is starting to understand why Marisa decided to have her help.

"That I am," Alice responds with a confident smile. However, it immediately drops to an awkward expression. "But who are you, anyway?"

Marisa decides to finally stop crouching from behind the bushes and Futo follows her lead out of reflex. "Ah, pardon me. Alice is thy name, correct?" Futo smiles. "I have heard as such from Lady Marisa. I am Futo of the Mononobe. 'Tis a pleasure to make thine acquaintance." Futo bows to Alice, who simply stands there in a pensive manner.

"So you've heard of me from Marisa, huh? Well, nice to meet you, I guess." With that, Alice focuses her attention on Marisa, figuring she is the prime culprit of whatever business she and Futo have with her.

"You checked on the mountain because you saw somethin' from there?" Marisa asks. "Why's that? They aren't human, but the mountain's population doesn't seem like anything special." Despite those words, Marisa has only come across a few of said population, but even then, she didn't really see anything striking about them.

"It doesn't? You must be blind, then," Alice condescendingly states, "These monsters are far different from any youkai you've ever known. Their properties may seem similar, but at their very core, they work differently from youkai. Even if they happened to get over here, they weren't at any risk of disappearing, and don't actually need to rely on humans to continue living. Their origins have nothing to do with Japan either, so I figured that mountain could have brought along anything convenient for research."

"How bizarre," Futo comments, finding Alice's words to be unsettling as they address a completely different, new type of youkai. It is beyond her imagination to think of even more youkai than what she has previously known, so hearing about such a thing is a displeasing experience.

... Meanwhile, Marisa is admittedly surprised at this information, and at Alice's rather plausible hypothesis. Though Marisa did think of treasure, she didn't think that she'd find anything that could further her magic research. "You really thought this through..."

"Of course," Alice proudly answers, "And I did my research, too. Unlike you. Maybe you should start learning from me." Indeed, Alice also took the liberty to read the many books the mountain provided, and got to know more about its population and magic. Her trip to the mountain was overall worthwhile, and Alice got to know a fair amount of things.

"Well, putting that aside," Marisa says so as to ignore Alice's condescending words, "You haven't seen Reimu around at all, right?"

At this, Alice shows herself somewhat confused. "That's a strange question. Why would you ask that?"

"Because Reimu's missing and we've gotta look for her," Marisa responds without much hesitation and watches as Alice's eyes widen in surprise at such words.

"Missing? Reimu of all people? You must be joking." Someone as formidable as Reimu does not simply go missing, after all.

"'Tis no jest," Futo asserts, "Her whereabouts are unknown at present."

Marisa nods and points at herself. "Yup, so I'm gathering people for a search party to look for Reimu."

Alice narrows her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. "So Reimu is missing now, huh... Strange that the time she goes missing coincides with this mountain incident, wouldn't you think so?"

"I do, but she's apparently not at the mountain, so it's not like I'll go look over there," Marisa says, "But if people from the mountain have been leaving their territory already, maybe one did get Reimu. I mean, you did meet one right before you went to check, didn't ya?"

"Yes, but I don't think the monsters of the mountain are to blame here. From what I've gathered and experienced, they're much weaker than youkai, and even humans," Alice explains, "Since they get weaker depending on their emotional state and the opponent's, killing them is easy as long as you're scary enough."

"Those are some pretty wimpy monsters," Marisa interjects.

"They can use magic and have really advanced technology, but in the end, they'd all be no match for Reimu, especially if they decide not to play fair. I doubt even a sizable group of them could take down Reimu, let alone a single one that just left the mountain." As if she were saying common sense, Alice's words had no trace of hesitation on them; she is completely sure of herself. Besides, Alice doesn't have any reasons to lie.

With that in mind, Marisa has no reason to suspect her in the slightest. "Basically, there's no way Reimu's at the mountain or that anyone from there got her, right?" _Well, I already knew Reimu wasn't there, but I guess I can be sure of it now._

"Exactly," Alice responds. "What I suspect from the timing it happened is that someone might've wanted Reimu out of the picture when it comes to the mountain incident; maybe they didn't want it solved. Either that, or they wanted to frame the monsters from the mountain for her disappearance. They aren't very pleasant possibilities, to say the least."

"Hmmm... The Crown Prince hath gone to investigate the mountain, but thou seemest to have done so already. 'Tis troubling to know the Crown Prince's efforts will be for naught within this search party..." Alice's hypotheses reminded Futo of Miko, who attempted to rationalize Reimu's disappearance as well. Currently, she is internally apologizing to her Crown Prince.

"Oh yeah, Miko did go to the mountain a while ago. Looks like that was pointless since we know the mountain's got nothin' to do with it already." Marisa's words and casual stance only intensify the internal apologies. "Anyway, we don't need to do any speculations for now because we don't have evidence for anything other than how much the mountain's not involved. What we gotta do is find Reimu as fast as possible. You in or not, Alice?"

"So, in the end, you want me to join the search party you're making, huh?" Alice crosses her arms. "Well, if you couldn't tell already, I'll be busy with the mountain for the next few days, so there's no way I'll be part of your search party. Go look for someone else."

... Marisa smirks in a rather eerie manner before glancing at Futo. "Hey, Futo. Remind me of what I said about getting Alice to join the search party."

Futo assumes a calm stance, with both hands tucked in each opposite sleeve, and smiles. "If memory serves me correctly, thou statedest, 'Preferably by force' quite cheerfully. Mayhap this be the time for the aforementioned duel?"

"What, now you're motivated?" Marisa asks.

"I simply realized a duel was inevitable from the very beginning. Furthermore, we desperately need more members in our search party." In truth, Futo is a little upset that Alice has rendered Miko's efforts to be completely useless, but she judges said motivations not to be appropriate to say out loud. Besides, she knows Alice herself is not at fault, so it isn't as if she has any sort of grudge against her; she is merely slightly upset. She figures a battle might relieve said emotions and make for decent training.

"There you have it," Marisa says, "We weren't askin' you to join, so you can't say no." She grins. "Now Futo's gonna honor Reimu, test your worth and kick your ass! Get ready!"

Futo assumes a fighting stance. "Mine apologies. It seemeth as though we must duel, for we need companions as capable as thee in our ranks." Futo figured Alice is probably not comfortable with the situation forced upon her by herself and Marisa, like most people probably would be.

... However, Alice is confidently smirking, as if amused at the prospect of a duel. "Oh, really?" Two dolls already seem to be floating near her; they are sure to be multiplied when she does begin fighting. "It won't do for you two to stomp over my free will like that. After this weirdo, you'll be next for round 2, Marisa, whether you like it or not!" _Weirdo?_ Futo immediately thinks in confusion, and notices Alice focusing on her. "Futo, wasn't it? Show me what you're made of!"

Seeing as Alice has no complaints or reservations about fighting, Futo's conscience feels lighter already. Her smirk exudes as much confidence as Alice's as both prepare for battle. "Such was mine intention from the very beginning!"

As they begin to engage in combat, Marisa, who has jumped back from their general area, starts feeling slight regret over not taking Alice down herself. It would've been entertaining to beat Alice with her own patterns, the more she thinks about it. Though Marisa was initially somewhat curious over how the set-up of Futo against Alice would look like spellcard-wise, and she herself doesn't mind watching a battle of that sort, she now wants a piece of the action.

Marisa doesn't outwardly express it, but she is definitely cheering for Alice to win...

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

I've done it! Omg, Marisa is so mean-spirited though XD Or, at least, she tends to make a lot of mean-spirited remarks. Anyway, with this chapter, I've had the opportunity to write Miko, and I loved it. Miko is amazing, she's such a great character: while behaving in a polite yet dignified manner, she is also rather casual and fond of jokes. Basically, she's a dignified, wise and charismatic person with a sense of humor and I like her a lot. Initially, I was going to write a scene with her talking to Seiga who reported stuff to her in the last chapter, but it wasn't turning out as well as I thought it would so I replaced that with a Kasen scene and decided to simply wait for this chapter to write Miko. I make a few references to Symposium of Post-Mysticism since Marisa acted as the moderator and Miko was a part of it; hopefully it doesn't confuse you too much! You should read it, honestly. It's a very worthwhile read.

Omg though, I feel the need to say something I've found while spending my time around different portrayals of Miko after writing this chapter, as this confuses me greatly. Now, we all know that Miko was lying dormant in the Mausoleum, and that because she was forgotten, she wound up in Gensokyo (and, seeing that, Byakuren got her temple built above the place in an attempt to keep her sealed). She wound up in Gensokyo not on purpose, but because she was considered a legend and transported there. So why, oh why, do people seem to think Miko is the anti-youkai faction of the place wishing to become the ruler of Gensokyo? Like, am I missing something?

I seriously read through every single thing Miko was featured in and there is absolutely nothing about her having any ambitions related to Gensokyo, like taking it over or ridding it of youkai or whatever (which is completely dumb seeing as even Miko seems to be aware of the fact that the presence of youkai is neessary to Gensokyo). While Symposium of Post-Mysticism had her say she would gladly become Gensokyo's administrator, she clarifies that it's until someone of her caliber is found and that in truth, she just wants to live a carefree life (kinda like how the celestials do; a lot of her dialogue and actions further support that claim like how surprised she gets when Marisa said she'd been to Heaven or the fact that Miko just gets servants for disciples without really doing much); it's only one suggestion, and in other appearances, she never takes an acction that could suggest her going forward with such an ambition (if we look at her personality, she'd probably already have started working towards becoming the leader of Gensokyo if she really wanted to). She makes said suggestion out of being used to the role of a leader and being naturally drawn to such affairs, not because she's plotting to take over Gensokyo.

Besides, there is absolutely nothing else beyond that suggesting this. **Edit:** Fine geez you win Touhou 15.5 was a thing and Miko does have it as an inner desire to rule over the world and fix it, but this does not exactly mean she'll plot to conquer the Outside World or Gensokyo; it just means it's a dream, one she'll probably never be able to make real as it's an extension of unshackled desire. Anyway! So how is this a thing that people treat as canon? This wouldn't have ticked me off if only one thing portrayed her in this manner, but I saw MANY, you know? _Many._ There were tumblr posts speaking of how Miko wanted to be the savior of Gensokyo in Ten Desires but then realizes Gensokyo is just fine and gives up (whut?) or about how she is supposed to be the complete opposite of Byakuren by being anti-youkai, and then there are fangames depicting Miko as an anti-youkai evil schemer who just wants to rise in popularity (who totally sucks in comparison to the saintly Byakuren lol of course) or as a devious schemer plotting to eventually take over Gensokyo, like, where did this shit even come from?

Miko is such a great character, and people make her out to be this way evil person: I'm not saying she's super kind-hearted or anything (because she's not perfect or anything; that's the charm of Touhou characters), but there are literally no sources indicating any of the portrayals I've been seeing flaunted as canon. If anything, Urban Legend in Limbo has Miko being the sensible one while Byakuren just decides to seal the occult balls like it's this evil cursed object none should see when it's obviously a much better idea to get to the bottom of the balls and then do something about them so they disappear for good. Miko just isn't what others apparently say she is according to all canon material she has appeared in. She's a surprisingly casual yet dignified bishie of gloriousness, man. She's way over-confident, but still. Well, you get the idea.

Hahaha, with writing Miko, I kinda felt bad for not having been able to write Byakuren. I wanted to fit her in, but she couldn't ^^' She's busy with the temple. It's like how you won't see any character from Subterranean Animism: they're all underground, so there's no way I can fit them in. Either way, throughout the scene with Miko, I couldn't help thinking how much fun it would've also been to have Miko take Frisk's place: it would admittedly be impossible to somehow get her to fall into the Underground, but if I get past that, her dialogue with a lot of the monsters would've been really interesting and great. Well, she'd completely own every opponent, so it wouldn't be all that interesting battle-wise. Even so, she'd sooooo get along with Sans, like, you don't understand, apart from the fact that Miko's kind of iffy with youkai (Sans isn't a youkai so we can argue she'd see through that and it'd all be okay) out of having been human, she would totally get along with him. The puns, omg, they both do all the puns ("You could say it's for monk-ease, badum-tss" damn it Miko XD).

It'd be a really fun ride. However, she isn't gonna join Marisa! She's gonna investigate the matter herself and all that, which might make you ask, "Why would she care lol"? To be honest, I think Miko is fond of Reimu. Not in a ship kind of way since I don't ship anybody in Touhou, but I think Miko is fascinated by Reimu somehow. Like, in Reimu's ending, Miko comes out of a stone tile (XD) and invites her to her home, and she remarks that she could learn a lot from Reimu in her dialogue in-game. So I think that Miko would totally take action if Reimu happened to be missing, especially because she would know the implications of her disappearance (something really bad will probably happen, or so she basically assumes). Meanwhile, she drops Futo off to help Marisa out because she'd preferably want to find Reimu, just saying.

Fun fact: Futo is my favorite character in Touhou. Miko's a very _(VERY)_ close favorite, but Futo just really entertains me lol People like portraying her as the idiot, but in-game dialogue doesn't make her out to be that unintelligent (she literally schemed behind the shadows to have her own clan fall in a bloody war; you can't say that's the work of an idiot 0.0). If anything, it does the opposite since Futo isn't actually the type of person to say anything inappropriate, so she comes off as rather collected and sure of herself, though she is also kinda naive and isn't in synch with the people of the present times (which is probably what originates the 'idiot' image) so she'll of course come off as way strange; she tends to jump to conclusions too. She's definitely a good person at heart who tries to appear dignified and fails somewhat due to not keeping up with the times, and she's got such an undying loyalty for Miko, it's great. Futo's also kind of petty, devious and rather close-minded (but more in the sense that she just can't fathom or process change more than complete denial of said change), which are ironically traits I wouldn't like in real life, but I dunno, I really like her. My Touhou favorites tend to change over time (from Ran to Yuyuko to Futo now), but for now, Futo's the one I like the most; I hope she becomes a playable character in a shooting game ^^

Anyway, wow, the dynamic between Marisa and Futo was completely unexpected even to me: I guess, since Futo's more on the righteous side and Marisa's more free-spirited, they sort of wouldn't make for the best team ever. Even so, they're both a bit quirky, so it's not like they can't be on the same page; it's just that Marisa happens to like joking about things in a mean-spirited way ^^' To be honest, I definitely imagine that Marisa and Futo can get along like, if they happen to see each other and talk for a while, or basically whenever they're not on a team lol. Because they both have different perspectives on what should be done, it's not the best of dynamics, but it seems like they'll do fine. I mean, they were sort of arguing, but their arguing was actually really harmless, they weren't truly at each other's throats, Miko was joking around too. Either way, I have to admit I sort of wondered about Marisa's stance on Alice: in Imperishable Night, they sort of bicker but also can be on the same page, so they're mostly just being mean to each other and enjoying it, but then in Subterranean Animism, they're slightly less mean, so I thought that maybe this isn't the case anymore...?

But eh, they still did all the banter, so I think the only thing that's changed between Alice and Marisa relationship-wise is that they've known each other for so long now that they can't help but get along slightly better, but they still like being mean to each other. In a way, I guess Marisa and Alice work because they're both mean-spirited XD Alice is a strangely comfortable character to write; I felt on ease writing her actions and dialogue. She isn't very complicated: she's proud, cares about magic and is pretty indifferent towards people, but she isn't a bad person. But, well, judging by how much I seem to differ from ZUN in terms of ease of writing characters (ZUN: Reimu=hard, Marisa=Easy/Me: Reimu=Usually Easy, Marisa=Moderately Difficult), maybe in the next Strange Creators of Outer World he'll talk about how difficult to write Alice is lol. Place your bets, who'll win? Alice or Futo? Marisa's vouching for Alice (out of her own selfish reasons), but who knows what'll happen! ^^

Anyway, let's finally talk about Reimu-related exploits! She finally met Napstablook, that's something I was anticipating. I felt bad for them because Reimu's scary and they totally thought something was suspicious about Reimu but couldn't even say it ^^' Besides, Reimu kind of wanted to exterminate Napstablook so yeah, I'd be scared too if I were them. She can also take down incorporeal people, so Reimu is something, alright. At first, I wasn't planning on having Reimu ever interact with the Mad Dummy again, but a few reviewers made me think what a waste it would be not to have them actually have a proper conversation (as proper as you can make Mad Dummy speak to anyone anyway), so I had Reimu check out Undyne's house; I assume Mad Dummy lives there. Besides, it also allowed for me to justify Undyne not showing up any time soon by Undyne coming out: I mean, people were also asking about that, so I might as well have the story justify it for me, really. Either way, the sheer amount of emotion and intensity in each line of dialogue for Undyne, man... It's amazing.

I always feel a great amount of emotions writing Undyne, because Undyne is a very passionate individual. To show it, I guess I get into a very passionate mood, too...? I really like Undyne's characterization, especially her more serious parts, so I want to do her justice! Because Undyne might be a dork, but she's also a responsible fish lady! Meanwhile, Reimu's all neutral about it, because that's just how Reimu rolls. Some people were wondering about Gerson and hey, Reimu saw Gerson! And got a bag to store her Nice Cream, though I seriously wonder why it isn't broken in pieces yet. People thought there'd be more conversation and more parallels with Genjii, but Genjii is really stern and Gerson's like, the opposite. So I think Reimu would only associate their appearances and not care much afterwards; she'd treat him like anyone else anyway. To be honest, I was really nervous about writing Gerson so I intensely studied all of his game dialogue to get him right. I hope I managed to do so! Their conversation wasn't very long, but I think it was a pleasant one.

Beyond these scenes, there isn't much to highlight because it's just Reimu walking around and extorting money from monsters. Since I didn't want to make it very excruciating and didn't want to make it seem anti-climactic for being too fast, I got the narration to muse on a lot of things Reimu would think about in the boredom of walking. Their worth is basically on you getting to know some perspectives on things, so at least I don't think I made them out to be bothersome. Omg though Temmie, uuuugh, I struggled so hard. I considered having Reimu go to Temmie Village, I seriously wondered about it for a good while, but it didn't seem like a good idea. Nothing interesting would happen there. Reimu would just go in, see this weird place, find that it's a dead end, ask the Temmies about it, the Temmies wouldn't answer properly, she'd get frustrated and then it'd be the same path all over again.

Basically, writing the Temmie Village in would be like writing pointless filler, and the dialogue wouldn't be very interesting. Due to that, I decided I'd have at least a Temmie fight, but writing that Temmie was very difficult because it was hard knowing the extent of the terrible way of speaking the Temmies have, no matter how much I researched them. Besides, her attacks are complicated so she's actually a really hard enemy for me. At least Reimu has bombs because otherwise she'd get hit; Temmie's attacks are really hard. Temmie's the hardest enemy you randomly encounter for me ^^' Either way, Reimu shows how much she can scare monsters yet again in this battle, since that Temmie couldn't even consider her cute anymore. Everyone thinks Reimu is cheating, but she just legit can use bombs so the misunderstanding's kinda sad. Whatever the case, the story continues with scenery until you get to Hotland, and honestly, I really liked that ending lol Damn it, Sans, you're everywhere! It ain't even my fault, he really is everywhere.

Speaking of stalkers, Flowey's been seen like, 2 times now, excluding that one in narration that Reimu didn't see. Who knows what to expect from him if Reimu ever manages to get him, to be honest. Not even I'm completely sure. I'll have to see if it happens to be a thing that occurs in the story. Man, if it weren't for the Touhou scenes, chapters like this would be really dull, the more I think about it, especially since they'd just be about Reimu walking and floating around. And here I was going to not have them at first, hahaha ^^' Seriously, I wasn't even gonna write about the stuff happening in Gensokyo at first, but now that I did, I don't regret it at all since it's fun, allows me to write a lot of Touhou characters and helps making the story more interesting. Whatever the case, the Touhou side's like some mystery series lol it's kind of weird. However, everyone's fighting each other so, uh, it's still pretty Gensokyo-like.

 **Imagination:** "Salutations, bitch! Prince Shoutoku's in da hood!"

If only this story had an abridged version omg XD


	9. Chapter 9

**First Words:**

* * *

 **b-wolf95 - Hahaha, yeah, I took a pretty long time with the last chapter ^^' April and May weren't the best of months for me. Omg though in what way did your view on Touhou characters change by reading this story, I'm** ** _soooo_** **curious! I personally think Byakuren's got a sort of gentle demeanor and cares a great deal about the ideals she follows, and I quite like her (I got kind of worried that people would think I didn't like Byakuren from that rant). However, I've seen her portrayed as this perfect saint who wouldn't dare hurt a single soul, which isn't her. She fights people so many times in Touhou that it's basically impossible to call her a pacifist (I have seen her portrayed as this, worryingly enough), and ultimately, Byakuren sides with the youkai. She doesn't dislike humans, but you can tell she is biased towards youkai, as she thinks they're oppressed in comparison to humans and made the Myouren Temple for the sake of youkai so they can follow her under buddhism and be in control of their own nature. Even despite that, she refuses youkai she perceives as being unable to change for the better, so it isn't like she is accepting of everything. Well, basically, I don't think she's Youkai Jesus, but I do think she's a good person, in a way, and I like her. Hmmm... I wouldn't consider Yuuka capable of doing that, and even if she was, I also don't think she'd conceivably do it ^^' I don't mind you bringing up Asriel, seeing as it's another topic I can talk about. Also, yeah, this website doesn't let you have more than one exclamation mark; it took a lot of them away in this story too ;_; Holy shit though, I did not at all notice that this story got on the fanfic recs of tvtropes and I got so giddy omg it's awesome to even think people would recommend this aaah I never thought it would happen so if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known at all! 0.0 Whatever the case, thank you very much for reviewing, as always!**

 **peachlemonade - Hello! Omg you didn't do anything weird! I was just finding our back and forth of thank yous amusing ^^' It's perfectly understandable not being able to read the whole chapter in a day, it's pretty big (I'm so sorry, this chapter is also huge ;_;). Ten Desires overall isn't very highly considered, so the great characters it introduces in the series are overshadowed by others; I used not to pay them mind too since I didn't consider Ten Desires all that much either. However, as I started becoming a bigger fan of Touhou and actually reading through stuff, I realized how great characters like Miko or Mamizou are. They're gaining popularity with the fighting games though, which I'm really glad for. Futo's way of speaking puts so much pressure on me, hahaha, I'm afraid of screwing something up ^^' In general, I just hate when a character is misinterpreted, and that interpretation becomes what people consider to be canon instead of some sort of in-joke: if someone is planning on writing a character or researching them, they should at all times base themselves on canon sources, not fanon. Rather than just when people make a character out to be a jerk, I hate when a character is made out to be a saint, a complete badass or a total loser too: all are bad because people aren't considering the actual complexities of the character when doing this, and just seeing them through a biased, idealized lens rather than canon. I actually like how Miko and Byakuren have conflicting ideals and don't get along because of this, since that ultimately says something about their character; I'd just like for Miko not to be overshadowed by Byakuren. I'm also finding it cool that things are moving forward on the Touhou side! Working with Touhou characters is a really fascinating experience, and I've been writing so many different, great characters. But ikr every time Reimu's moving forward, tension builds up by a lot; I feel it too! But I also get the feeling that not as much happens with Reimu as it does with Marisa and it really unnerves me ;_; Well, in Undertale, Frisk only meets the Riverperson in Hotland, not Waterfall. So it wouldn't be likely for Reimu to see them in Waterfall. I liked how Napstablook could tell she clearly wasn't normal but didn't have the courage to question her at all, poor them ^^' Undyne makes me fired up! I really thought I'd wrapped up stuff with Undyne nicely, but it looks like I haven't? Though I think I did, who knows if or when she will appear again? However, I'll very honestly tell you I wouldn't quite count on it. I'm glad you liked the Mad Dummy conversation! I felt like I hadn't featured Mad Dummy well enough in their fight, so I thought it'd be cool to have her actually talk to them; to me, it was amusing how Mad Dummy was like 'I dodged a bullet there' and stuff XD A lot of people relate Yukari to Sans for those reasons, so I think there would also be more people who can relate to us, uh, more than you'd think. More than Miko, I've imagined a lot of characters in the Underground like Marisa or Futo or Sanae, but Miko sticks out because omg the puns XD Whatever the case, thank very much for reviewing!**

 **Guest - Thank you! And your English wasn't that bad, I could understand you perfectly! My first language isn't English either, so it isn't like I'm in the greatest of positions to criticize you anyway ^^ I'll do my best, and thank you for reviewing!**

Don't worry, this part isn't nearly as huge as the behemoth that is the actual chapter. This is the longest chapter of the story by far, which makes me a bit uneasy because the next chapter is like, the second shortest ^^' Either way, this story got 10 favorites and 15 followers, and it looks like it's on the fanfic recs page of Undertale in tvtropes, which is pretty cool too (I'm not sure how to go about showing my gratitude to this, hahaha...)! The fact that so many people are reading this fic baffles me, to be honest, because the Touhou fanfiction archive is mostly inactive and there are barely any new fics or active fics there which is really sad since there's a lot of potential for fanfics in Touhou. With that in mind, I didn't think this story would get attention, let alone this much. Well, putting that aside, as I said before, this chapter's pretty big, uh... I'm really sorry ;_;

Either way, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 9: A Last-Minute Offer for the Shrine Maiden**

* * *

Seemingly in a moderate amount of pain and clothes reasonably tattered, Alice stands from her (unintentionally) kneeled position and stares at Marisa. "And why, exactly, did you have to beat me up right after Futo...?" She dusts off her dress, which is slightly dirty from having gotten into contact with the ground in a rather rough manner. Though she is moving as if she were feeling no pain, this is merely to hide that fact, not wanting to seem weak in comparison. She feels somewhat ashamed she lost to Futo (as she would if she were beaten by anyone) but she at least takes solace in the fact that she didn't use her full power, like always.

Marisa smirks, and glances at Futo. "Futo, remind me of what Alice said about fighting us."

... Futo is smirking as well. "Ah yes, if memory serves me correctly, Lady Alice exclaimed, 'You'll be next for round 2, Marisa, whether you like it or not' quite confidently."

Marisa nods twice, as if that content with the information she already knew of. "As you can see, I wasn't the one who asked for round 2 here; you can't blame me for doing what you wanted."

"You know what I actually meant with that," Alice immediately retorts. "What's up with your weird dynamic anyway?"

"Call it camaraderie," Marisa corrects Alice as if she were uttering common sense. "The two of us," she says as she quickly points at Futo and then at herself, "make up a party, after all."

Futo tilts her head to the side with a somewhat cheerful smile. "Oh-ho? Hast thou forgotten our third member already? 'Twould not be good to simply leave her aside."

"Oh yeah," Marisa utters in a seemingly too carefree manner; Alice's frown deepens at the intentional tone being taken. "Now that we completely obliterated Alice, she has no choice but to call out all her plans to look for Reimu, huh? Guess she's part of the party now."

"As if that wasn't your intention to begin with..." Alice mutters, somewhat displeased.

Meanwhile, Marisa gives Futo a rough and seemingly friendly pat on a back, which admittedly surprises her; Futo flinches. "You've been real useful now, Futo!"

As if to hide the fact that she failed to predict Marisa's actions, she clears her throat as she recomposes herself, wanting to continue exuding a reliable and proper presence. "Naturally so," she responds with a confident smile, "Any task by the Crown Prince assigned shall be fulfilled to the best of mine abilities!"

... Alice blankly watches this interaction for a while before feeling the need to get the conversation on track. "Anyway, I'd hate to agree with you, but it looks like I've got no choice but to join this search party of yours. I do want to know where Reimu has gone, too."

"Could've just said that in the first place," Marisa remarks, "Not that it'd change anything." Alice would still be fought, no matter the circumstance.

"Then there would be no point after all," Alice retorts, "And my initial plans were to visit the mountain until you two showed up, not looking for Reimu. It's still hard to believe she's missing."

Futo nods, while Marisa says, "Yeah, I get that. Doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything about it though." Marisa assumes a confident stance. "Which is why I'm gathering people for this search party. Even though I've got you two already, three people isn't enough to search all of Gensokyo. I gotta come up with more people to drag along."

Both Futo and Alice narrow their eyes pensively, though Futo also tilts her head. "More people, huh..." Alice mutters before smiling, as if something had hit her. "I think I've got an idea."

"Really? What is it?" Marisa asks, admittedly curious. Who would Alice of all people know to recruit into the search party? It isn't like Alice has many friends, after all. Even so, she does happen to have a number of acquaintances (though not as many as Marisa), so Marisa can only wonder who exactly occurred to Alice's mind.

"Well," Alice says as she starts floating, "if we really need more people, I know just the place we could get someone from. Follow me, you two!" With that, Alice flies away, surprising both Futo and Marisa.

"Hey, wait up!" Her broom in hand and ready for use, Marisa flies off after her, while Futo follows suit without any such aid and does not seem to struggle to keep up with Marisa's speed.

When she is precisely at Marisa's side, Futo asks, "With such actions, hath not she taken thy much esteemed leader role? Thou art taking this better than expected."

 **. . .**

"She did," Marisa blankly replies, reminding herself of having insisted on being the leader of the search party. In truth, she doesn't particularly care for leading anything as long as she is having fun, but ordering Futo and Alice around also seems like a fun prospect, so... "She always steals the cool parts like this. Now I really gotta catch up to her!"

... Both Futo and Marisa smirk at each other before increasing the speed of their flight, towards Alice.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Meanwhile, Reimu has approached Sans. "Weren't you all the way back there a while ago?" She points back at where she came from, remembering all the paths she went through from there. Not once did she meet Sans while heading to Hotland; he must have teleported, Reimu notes. "What are doing here now?"

"break ended. now i'm being a sentry," Sans casually responds while taking something from under the sentry station counter. Without any grace, Sans extends his arm towards her. "want a hot dog?"

Reimu stares at it for a few seconds. "Well, sure." Seemingly finding nothing wrong with the food item Sans is grasping (beyond the fact that she has never seen something like that before), Reimu takes the hot dog from him. "But with the condiments this has, this will make a mess out of my bag, you know? Don't you have anything that could come in handy for this?"

"nope. but i've got something right here." Sans jumps back for reasons unknown to Reimu... until she sees him raise his leg, revealing something on top of his foot. Noticing the joke, Reimu narrows her eyes, somewhat irritated at the fact that she was misled. Though he then drops his leg right back down to the ground, the paper bag he had there remained in the same position, in the air. His arm is also stretched out at its level. He's using his powers, Reimu notes as she sees one of his eyes flash blue and yellow successively.

He stops after grabbing the bag with his free hand. "i couldn't be runnin' a business without any take-out." He winks. "here." Sans walks to his original position right in front of the sentry station and watches as Reimu takes the paper bag with a neutral expression.

... She probably didn't notice that joke, he notes. Either way, Reimu says, "Well, that's convenient." She puts the hot dog she received in the paper bag and stores it with the Nice Cream with a thoughtful expression. "Not that I'd want to, but you're not going to charge any money for this? You did say it was a business."

"shop's not open yet," Sans casually responds, "and sentries don't sell hot dogs."

Reimu smirks. "They 'watch out' for humans, right?"

"and other dangerous stuff like that." Reimu almost takes that as a compliment, but mostly remains neutral to Sans's words. "there aren't many holes for humans to fall in here so it's not like it'd make sense to station a sentry just to watch out for them. anyway, still plannin' on getting to the king's castle?"

Reimu crosses her arms, seemingly irritated already by the change in topic. "Of course. Are you planning on nagging me about it every time we talk?"

"maybe," Sans answers before winking at Reimu, purposefully vague. "i was just gonna tell ya that you're getting close though. your journey's probably gonna end soon. good for you."

Reimu narrows her eyes, wondering about Sans's intentions. Why would he even care about that at this moment? If anything, why is he still helping her? She could comprehend why he did that in Snowdin, when she was doing him a favor, but not now that they're even. "Yeah," she ends up answering, not feeling up to questioning Sans since he isn't in her way. "I got the directions out of a random ghost I found so I know where to go, too."

"that so? guess you're all set then." Reimu nods, already perceiving an end to this conversation.

It is precisely because she is 'all set' that she feels she doesn't need to speak to Sans for much longer, at least not at the moment. There isn't anything to talk about anyway, barring an interrogation on Sans's exact motivations, which Reimu doesn't actually consider all that important. She can tell he won't be a problem to her, after all. "Exactly, so I'll just get going now."

"see ya," Sans says as he lazily waves at her; Reimu waves back just as casually before finally moving onwards. The first thing she can take in is the fairly large building in the distance, but just in her proximity seems to be a water container of sorts; something she currently doesn't need. _I guess the people living in this hot place would need things like that, huh..._ Reimu absent-mindedly thinks as she passes by it.

 _But still..._ Reimu sighs as she takes in the sight before her. "Why does this have so many different paths to take...?" Everything is usually so simple when she's solving incidents, and yet the Underground is full of areas Reimu has no choice but to explore out of not knowing the exact path through it. _What a bother..._ Right in front of her is, naturally, that huge building, but there are also paths to the left and right. Upon closer inspection, Reimu finds that the word 'LAB' is painted onto the building in red. _I guess that won't lead me to any castle._

At least that place was easy to cross out, she notes. Reimu then takes a few more steps forward, just enough for her to be able to peek through what lies beyond the paths at both her sides. To her right, Reimu sees mostly darker ground and a river; faintly, she spots something floating next to land. _It looks like this place doesn't just have lava._ She decides to check her left before choosing where to go despite her curiosity.

Surprisingly enough, the path to the left is guarded by two tall, armored figures. "The Royal Guard...?" Reimu mutters as she stares at them intently. The clearly intimidating and intense staring being sent the guards' way is enough to make them flinch, and the initial fear is only amplified by the fact that Reimu is now walking straight towards them with a smirk on her face. _If there are guards blocking the place, that's got to be where the castle is!_

The ghost said the castle is beyond a resort, but the guards may just be blocking that. In fact, the guards may be blocking the path to a completely different location. Even so, there are no other leads as to where Reimu should go, and she has people she can interact with right there. To Reimu, it makes sense to, like always, ready her Purification Rod to plow through anyone seemingly in her way. After all, if they're in her way, she has no choice but to take them down.

... Not that Reimu can even prove they're in her way. But her intuition certainly indicates so.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Yet again, Alice finds herself slowly standing up from the ground and dusting her somewhat tattered clothes off as if she weren't in any pain whatsoever. "Why, exactly, did the both of you have to beat me up _again_...?" She wasn't even expecting it that time around. She just got suddenly attacked by Marisa and Futo, who relentlessly hurled their very different spellcards at her: the contrast of said spellcards would have been quite the sight if Alice hadn't been on the receiving end of the attack. "Answer without having to get reminded of anything, if you would."

"We weren't plannin' on it," Marisa retorts, "We didn't say anything special." Marisa crosses her arms. "But still, you had it coming, Alice. Who said you were the one making the decisions here? I started this search party thing so I'm getting the credit."

Alice skeptically raises an eyebrow. " _You_? Making decisions? Now that's a creative joke coming from you," she remarks with a condescending smile. However, it then shifts into an apathetic frown. "In the end, you just want to have fun searching for Reimu, don't you? What are you playing the leader for?"

"Well, I didn't want _her_ to lead me around," Marisa casually says while pointing at Futo, "so it just sorta ended up this way." Meanwhile, Futo remains with her head low while hearing Marisa's response, as if to appear unaffected.

"Alas, the toxic fumes of the forest impeded my chances of besting Lady Marisa and becoming the leader..." Futo mutters at an audible level, in a collected and calm, though seemingly disappointed (in herself) manner.

After briefly focusing on Futo out listening what she has to say, Alice shifts her gaze to Marisa. "An excuse?"

"A lame excuse, at that." Marisa nods a few times, almost as if proud of that fact.

"'Tis is naught but the truth," Futo protests.

... Before Alice and Marisa have the chance to retort to her words, a voice utters, "You've been chatting awfully close to this place for a while now. I guess you didn't actually want to go in?" Those words did not come from anyone in the search party. Instead, they came from someone standing right by the gates of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. "That's good. It wouldn't do having to deal with three people like you at once."

Meiling is her name. She is facing Alice, Marisa and Futo with a conversational smile, but doesn't seem like she will budge from her position of blocking their entry into the mansion. "Oh yeah, I guess Alice did lead us here." Despite the absent-minded comment, Marisa manages to smirk afterwards. _If it's the Scarlet Devil Mansion she got us into, there can only be one person to drag along._ "So, we're breaking in and getting her into the search party, right?"

"Halt. To whom art thou referring to...?" Futo asks, having clearly not reached the same conclusion as Marisa, who is actually knowledgeable on what lurks in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Spending most of her time in the Human Village, Futo has admittedly not explored as much of Gensokyo as she should have in the time she has been awaken. The Scarlet Devil Mansion is, to her, merely a location she scarcely heard from other villagers as she passed by. Naturally, she knows naught of where the location is to begin with.

Meanwhile, Marisa and Alice are nodding at each other with confident expressions. Meiling sighs. "Well, a three-on-one battle will be rough, but I can't say I haven't had to deal with this sort of stuff lately. You know, with all the rowdy youkai and tools flying around." Despite being seemingly troubled, Meiling manages to smile as she assumes a fighting stance. "Even if it's you two and a stranger, I'll see to it you won't get past this point!"

Suddenly, Alice and Marisa take off from the ground and into the air. "Huh?" Meiling utters with a blank gaze as she spots them flying towards the mansion.

"Good luck, Futo!" With overly cheerful expressions, Alice and Marisa are waving at Futo as they near the mansion.

"We're cheerin' for ya, so you better catch up!" With such words, both are already landing near the actual doors to the mansion, while Futo and Meiling can't help but stare blankly. This sudden turn of events is admittedly difficult to process for the both of them.

 **. . .**

"... Pardon?" Futo mutters as she continues facing the sky Alice and Marisa had flown through. It seems she has been left here so she can take down Meiling while Marisa and Alice go get... whoever it is they wanted to get from there. Futo still has no idea of their specific business in this strange, otherworldly mansion. Even so, she knows that to fulfill the task assigned by her Crown Prince (aid Marisa), she has to defeat the gatekeeper currently focusing her attention on Futo.

With a deep breath, Futo recomposes herself and smirks as she faces Meiling, who hasn't even bothered not to look awkward as she processes the situation...

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

 _The path's supposed to be here, but..._ Reimu has already left behind the bodies of the guards she has mercilessly beaten and is now staring at some sort of metal door. Could this be the elevator mentioned by the ghost? Seeing as the door has no handle and doesn't budge at attempts to move it, Reimu assumed the button next to it would have an effect. _It looks like it isn't working._ She had pressed the button, but the door still didn't open.

It remains closed. Reimu knows better than to attempt to kick open a metallic door. Instead, she figures it would be a much better idea to destroy the door with moderately sized balls of light, ones much stronger than in spellcard form; ones that can do actual damage. Anyone hit with something like that would certainly perish. Surely a measly metallic door will also be destroyed with such an attack, Reimu notes as she sends the orbs of light flying towards the alleged elevator door.

... Just in case, Reimu jumps back right as the orbs collide with the door. She then mentally praises her own intuition, as some parts of the door sent flying from the attack didn't manage to hit her due to this action. With the smoke slowly dissipating from the area, Reimu frowns at the sight before her. "Ugh..." _I definitely over-did it,_ she thinks as she sees the orange-tinted rock from beyond a hole in the elevator. _I guess this won't work anymore for sure._ Reimu smiles, though in an uneasy manner.

She looks up. "I could just fly..." she mutters, "So it's not like I really needed this elevator thing." More confident and motivated, Reimu set off upwards with a smile, knowing it would be likely to find the king's castle above. At least, she would at first find some sort of resort, but after that, the castle would surely be visible.

To her surprise, Reimu collides with something. At the speed she was flying before, Reimu ends up feeling a little pain from the sudden crash into what seems to be an invisible wall. _A barrier?_ She narrows her eyes. It must have been put up for a reason. To begin with, monsters have to use elevators to reach the higher floors, but that's because they are unable to fly. Besides, even if they could fly, it wouldn't be convenient to block their easy passage to the areas above. If anything, the only reason for a barrier to be put up at that precise area is to make sure monsters don't fall off of the paths above and into their deaths, but even that could be better prevented by putting up some sort of fencing around said paths, and such an occurrence shouldn't be common enough to warrant a barrier if it didn't warrant fences. "Was this to keep me out?!"

It's a logical stretch, especially as Reimu doesn't have actual evidence of this (only sheer intuition), but it could be a possibility if monsters that know she is human also exist. Such monsters could have spotted her and, to make sure she doesn't progress, put up a barrier to keep her from flying as she pleases. "Hmph..." Reimu smiles. "Am I being underestimated or what?"

While taking down the barrier sealing the Underground would take too much time to bother with if there is an alternate, easier way to cross it, the same cannot be applied to this situation. Spread out too thin to cover an area too large and not very powerful to begin with, the barrier here does not at all make up for its simplicity with sheer raw power in all fronts like the one separating the Underground from the surface. "A barrier of this caliber..."

Reimu brings a single finger towards the barrier's surface. After all, it's all she needs to dispel it. "Is not even worth talking about!"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

 _"O-oh my God?! Sh-sh-she... she's...!"_

 _"THIS IS LIVE FOOTAGE, RIGHT?! HOW CAN SHE EVEN DO THAT?!"_

 _"I t-told you the barrier wouldn't hold! This human is too amazing to be held back by a barrier!"_

 _"WELL, IT'S TIME TO BUST OUT THE LASERS, ALPHYS! IT LOOKS LIKE YOU WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG!"_

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

In a single instant, any signs of the barrier are gone. Thinking she can now pass, Reimu returns to flying upwards... "Woah...!" Only to find herself having to float backwards at the sudden appearance of a blue ray of sorts blocking her way. She looks around, but doesn't find anyone who could have started such a laser, or anyone at all. There is no one nearby. Instead, she sees that the laser originates from some sort of tiny, metallic, round apparatus floating close to a wall of the area. _Who put_ this _up?!_

That one laser isn't the only one that appeared: at the moment Reimu managed to dodge the laser, more immediately joined it. They don't line up side by side, and instead float on opposing sides so as to cover the area the barrier is supposed to without having to use that many lasers by having them make up a sort of cross pattern. Even so, the quantity of tiny machines is considerable, and the sight surprises Reimu momentarily.

Then, she frowns. "Someone's really out to stop me!" _What should I do now?_ She glances at the various tiny machines. _I guess I can try to take all of these down?_

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

 _"BUT STILL, DIDN'T SHE BREAK THAT ELEVATOR A LITTLE WHILE AGO? THOSE LASERS PROBABLY WON'T HOLD FOR MUCH LONGER EITHER."_

 _"These lasers are different from normal ones. They'll p-probably hold her back."_

 _"'PROBABLY'? WHAT KIND OF LASERS ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO BE?"_

 _"Well, the color isn't the same, see?"_

 _"OH MY, NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT..."_

 _"Besides, the machines themselves are sturdier. L-like your body."_

 _"THAT HUMAN WON'T KNOW WHAT HIT HER."_

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

As expected, just her Purification Rod had not been enough to destroy these tiny machines. However, somehow, the orbs of light that had so easily broken the elevator below her were also powerless against simple machinery like the one she is attempting to take down. If anything, while the walls nearby did break and the debris fell to the lava, the machines remain intact. Reimu finds herself perplexed by this situation. _I can't destroy these things?_

"No way." _Just how deadly are these lasers anyway?_ From her sheer recklessness with no one to stop her, Reimu has enough courage to poke through the laser. "Ouch!" As expected, it hurt a little, but her finger is otherwise not charred or missing.

... However, her ability to fly suddenly is. **"Waah!"** Shocked, Reimu almost fails to process her predicament, and that she is indeed falling towards the ground. In a few seconds, surely the damage she would take from the fall would be severe, if not death-ensuing. _How did this happen?!_ Despite her confusion and shock, Reimu refuses to accept her situation. Her eyebrows furrow to form a determined and serious expression as she makes an effort to re-focus her magical power in an attempt to return to a floating state.

While flying practically comes naturally to Reimu, it's something she does with her spiritual power, like any skill of the sort. If she stopped flying all of a sudden, it must be because something cut the flow of her spiritual power and forced her downwards. Could it be...?

Her efforts come into fruition rather quickly, as she returns to floating the moment she wills it to be the case. Whatever happened to dispel her power, it only did so temporarily, Reimu notes while sighing in relief. "Now that was close..." she mutters with an uneasy smile as she looks upwards, where the distinctly dark blue lasers are assigned specifically to block her from passing through. _Did I stop flying all of a sudden because of those lasers? I did start falling right after I touched them..._

"It's irritating, but it looks like I really have no choice but to find another way around these lasers..." She slowly lands, thinking of how much time she wasted just to get nowhere. After all, she now will be heading over to the path towards the water anyway. _Anyway, that's got to be where the castle is! Otherwise, there wouldn't be anything blocking me. But if I can't get past that..._ "I've just got to beat up the person behind this and be over with it!"

With that sentence and a confident smile, Reimu heads towards the path opposite of the one with the broken elevator. _Even if the perpetrators are beyond the lasers, there's got to be an alternate path!_ Anything should have an alternate path: otherwise, how can Reimu crush her enemy? It isn't fair for an alternate path not to exist, and this sort of fairness is always in Reimu's best interests. In Gensokyo, it would simply be improper to set something without weaknesses up.

Incidents have to be solved somehow, after all. As she descends a fairly short flight of stairs, Reimu can already spot a cloaked figure standing on a cozy little wooden boat; the figure's face cannot be seen at all. "Tra la la," it sings in an easygoing manner, still on the boat by the darker land of this specific area. Rather than lava, there is a river of water located here, though Reimu does not know where it leads.

"Hey," Reimu calls, curious about this place in particular as it feels different from what she has seen of Hotland. "What's up with this place?"

To Reimu's straightforward question, the cloaked figure turns towards her slowly, and only slightly while singing, "Tra la la." It takes a few moments to then respond, warranting a troubled expression from Reimu. "This is a river in the Underground. It passes all the way through Snowdin, Waterfall and Hotland." _Waterfall? Is that referring to the area before this one?_ The name is far too literal to be so easily registered, but that fact is also convenient for Reimu to figure what it alludes to in the first place. "I love riding in my boat here. Would you care to join me?"

"No thanks," is Reimu's immediate response, finding no need to accept the cloaked figure's offer. "I mean, it's not like you can take me where I want to go. This river doesn't lead to the castle, right?"

"That's right. As I said, it passes all the way through Snowdin, Waterfall and Hotland. These are the only areas I could take you." _Exactly,_ Reimu thinks, not very surprised. "Tra la la..." Reimu hears the figure's humming voice; it's always seemingly jolly in tone. In general, the figure seems to be an easygoing yet cryptic existence, though Reimu cares little about questioning it. "The elevator is broken and there's only one path left. It might just lead you in the right direction."

 _How vague._ "Is that so? Well, I'm out of here." With that, Reimu turns around and leaves the cloaked figure and area behind as she goes up the stairs. _That was kind of pointless._ "One path left, huh..." _And the elevator's broken, or, well, the path upwards is blocked in general, so..._ As she finds herself facing the huge building, she curiously thinks, _This lab place?_ "I guess this could also be a path of sorts."

 _It's not like I have much choice anyway._ If anything, the chances of anyone knowledgeable in lasers and such being in that building are rather high, so Reimu does not hesitate to pick up her pace and head towards the lab. _I'll get to the bottom of this in no time once I beat up whoever's in there!_ It's with such resolve that Reimu watches as the doors open for her before she can even slam them open, but even that doesn't make her stop in surprise as she simply notes the high technology momentarily and focuses on what's ahead of her.

However, most of that is darkness. Only some of her surroundings are faintly visible, and what she can clearly see is limited to the floor directly in front of her. Unfazed, she simply creates a tiny orb of light like she did in Waterfall so she can better see the area. The first thing she notes after that is a brightly shining big screen to her left: on it is projected an image of herself standing in the lab. "What's this?" Reimu takes two steps to the side; the screen follows her every movement. "Creepy..." _It's watching me for sure._

Reimu looks around her. Her tiny orb of light does a good enough job illuminating her surroundings better, but said surroundings are rather messy: the desk Reimu can see as she moves forward into the lab is filled with many papers stacked about, empty food containers and a strange doll close to one of its edges; Reimu cannot will herself to look through so much junk. She spots something similar to what Papyrus had in his kitchen, and a strange, purple bag next to it; supposedly, it's dog food. Just as she processes this, Reimu hears a sound similar to the one made by the lab doors that automatically opened for her. However, said sound clearly came from the opposite direction.

The lights turn on, rendering the tiny orb of light useless now. Before her is the form of some sort of reptile-like, yellow youkai wearing a white coat and glasses. The orb of light dissipates as Reimu narrows her eyes. "Who are you?" The monster is visibly nervous, Reimu notes. "A scientist?"

 **. . .**

"Hey..." Reimu awkwardly calls out. "I'm talking to you, you know?"

 **. . .**

"Oh my God." These are the first words Reimu hears the monster utter. Her presence is just that awe-inducing, Reimu figures. Even so, Reimu can't help but give her a curious look. "Y-you're here! You're r-right here!" _So she does know me,_ Reimu thinks, finding it more confusing that the monster is this nervous if it was aware of her existence to begin with. The monster looks down at herself before hastily straightening her coat. "And I'm a mess, oh my God..." the monster mutters in complete shame before noticing Reimu's impatient gaze on her. "A-ahem! Uh, I... I'm Alphys! Hi! I'm Asgore's royal scientist!"

 _Asgore's?_ Reimu immediately thinks: she doesn't particularly remember it, but she has a feeling she has heard the name before. _If she's the royal scientist, he's got to be the king!_ Despite that, it's rather easy for Reimu to conclude Asgore's identity. Seeing a clear enemy in front of her, Reimu assumes a fighting stance. "B-b-but, aaaah, I'm not one of the 'bad guys'!" _There's no way she's telling the truth._ Reimu maintains her fighting position, as if already expecting a battle to ensue; this clearly unnerves Alphys. "A-actually, since you stepped out of the Ruins, I've, um... been 'observing' your journey through my console." _Console?_

"Basically, you were stalking me, right?" Reimu interjects, having a feeling Alphys would take a considerable amount of time talking. "I've really had enough of that for one adventure. Anyway, if you're the royal scientist, you've got to know your machinery and all that. Besides, the locations are close so those lasers must have been your doing! That's where the castle is, isn't it? You'd better take those lasers out right now or you'll be in a world of pain! You hear me?!"

Alphys flinches, seemingly panicked. "I-I-I, uh, I was just about to say t-that I didn't d-do all of that! I saw your whole journey and I c-couldn't help but feel motivated! Y-you know, like how seeing someone on a screen r-r-really makes you want to, um, cheer them on!" _She really sounds suspicious, all nervous like that..._ Alphys could simply be scared of Reimu's intimidating presence, but Reimu has no intention of dropping her fighting stance. "But, originally, I w-was going to s-stop you... W-which caused a b-bit of an issue."

"And that issue is those lasers blocking my way! Take them off!" Reimu demands, clearly impatient. She clearly considers Alphys to be suspicious, so the excuses she is hearing are starting to become troublesome; Reimu feels the need to get to the point.

"I c-can't!" Alphys loudly responds, as if cornered and nervous about her own fate. "Because...!" However, to complete cut the mood created by Reimu, the sound of something heavy and metallic rapidly approaching can be heard.

Reimu looks around in confusion. "Is this a trap?"

"N-no, it's, ummm!" Before Alphys can come up with the right words to tell Reimu, the sound of an explosion coming from a wall to Reimu's left resounds, making Reimu jump back in surprise. "Oh no," Alphys mutters in an audible tone as the smoke starts disappearing from the supposed blast zone. Then, the lights suddenly turn themselves off.

 **"OHHHH YES!"** _It's coming from the wall that just exploded,_ Reimu thinks as she tenses, finding herself in pitch black darkness. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES..." _What's going on?_ Before Reimu decides to conjure another tiny orb of light to illuminate the area, a spotlight shines down on the voice's source: a rectangular, metallic being supported by a tiny wheel and with a screen shining yellow and red right at its front; its appearance is familiar to Reimu. "TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!"

"You're that robot from the weird poster...!" Colorful lights shine through spherical objects unknown to Reimu and equally colorful confetti fly from the ceiling as the robot claps. Above him is a sign of sorts, and on it are the words 'GAME SHOW' in bright, varying colors.

"ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH YOUR HOST? LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE ALL CAUGHT UP, DARLING!" _What's he calling me 'darling' for?_ 'Strange shrine maiden', 'buddy', 'bucko', or even 'child' don't make her bat an eye, but 'darling' just seems plain weird to Reimu. "WHICH MEANS WE CAN GO STRAIGHT INTO THE QUIZ! LET'S GIVE A HAND TO OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT!" As the robot claps, a spotlight shines down on Reimu, as if marking her as the 'wonderful contestant' he was referring to.

"Huh?" _So I'm supposed to participate? What's going on, anyway? Just when I was going to get this scientist youkai to take down the lasers, this robot shows up..._ The fact that he could mess with things such as the lighting in the lab is greatly suspicious, Reimu notes. _What sort of control does this robot have?_

Despite Reimu being clearly confused, the robot continues as if this weren't the case. "YOU MIGHT BE CAUGHT UP IN THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE SHOW, BUT YOU'VE NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, HAVE YOU? DON'T WORRY, BEAUTIFUL! IT'S SIMPLE! THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE," the robot says as the red parts of his screen make up a '1', "ANSWER CORRECTLY..." His screen starts flashing red and yellow afterwards as he stretches his arms outward. "OR YOU DIE!" The usual screen suddenly emerges.

 **'*Mettaton attacks!'**

... Reimu frowns, clearly displeased. "This is getting really confusing!" she exclaims as she processes that she has started a battle with Mettaton, even though she was supposed to be doing some sort of quiz show. Somewhat frustrated, Reimu points her Purification Rod at Mettaton threateningly. "Are you going to ask me questions or try to take me down?! If you're going to try to kill me if I get the questions wrong anyway, what's a battle like this for?!"

"ISN'T IT OBVIOUS? THIS ISN'T JUST A QUIZ SHOW WITH A DEATH PENALTY, DARLING! THAT WOULD BE BORING!" Mettaton explains as Alphys looks on in absolute worry. Fortunately, Alphys's existence is currently not even being processed by Reimu. "THIS IS A QUIZ BATTLE! IT WILL HAVE DRAMA! IT WILL HAVE BLOODSHED! AND IT WILL DEFINITELY HAVE QUESTIONS. YOU'LL GET SMARTER WHILE AT IT! ISN'T THAT JUST FANTASTIC?"

"A quiz battle?" Reimu questions, more to herself than to Mettaton. In her absent-mindedness, Reimu ends up skipping her own turn by accident. "Ah." However, she isn't very fazed by this. If anything, Reimu is smiling. "Alright," she responds, "I'll go for it!" Quiz or not, a battle is a battle, and Reimu likes to win battles. Besides, Mettaton seems to have answers that Alphys has not been able to provide her with.

Even despite Reimu's confident answer, Alphys looks uneasy. "THAT'S THE SPIRIT! NOW, LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!" Just as Mettaton exclaims this, the screen in front of Reimu widens and presents her with four choices from A to D. _I guess this screen is for a whole lot of different battles,_ Reimu curiously thinks. Then, a separate screen appears next to Mettaton, which reads out:

'What's the prize for answering correctly?'

Immediately figuring the words on the screen and the separate screen are connected as the available options she can pick from and the question respectively, she reads the answers in her mind:

'A: Money'

'B: Mercy'

'C: New car'

'D: More questions'

Reimu then notices a countdown of sorts in the middle of her options. _This has a time limit?_ Reimu thinks before scrambling for the correct answer in her mind. _This thing is out to kill me so he won't give me mercy, and it's not like he'd want to give me anything like money either. A car's definitely out of the question, too._ "More questions, obviously!"

The option Reimu says out loud shines in green at its outline, and a strange sound is made from it; Reimu decides to interpret this as getting the question right. "TOO EASY FOR YOU, HUH?"

Reimu's turn arrives. For a bit, she seems thoughtful, but then she snaps back to reality before her turn gets skipped again, looking confident and determined. "Okay, I got it...!" The screen once again widens, and options appear.

However, these options are for Mettaton. A screen appears beside Reimu as well.

'What's that weird scientist youkai's name?'

Reimu promptly points at Alphys. "I'm referring to her, by the way." _Really, what was it again?_ Not even Reimu is completely sure despite having heard it minutes ago, which is why she asked; she had been too busy memorizing the fact that the king was named Asgore. Either way, if Mettaton broke into the lab, he must at least know her name. And, for Reimu to beat her up after this battle, she must at least know her name as well; it's already strange enough she hasn't gotten to know the title of anyone she has encountered like she usually does. Naturally, she tends to forget about these anyway, but in this case, she finds it a better idea to know the name of a youkai as important to her goals as the royal scientist, seeing as she could be knowledgeable on even the barrier.

... The background music that had been faintly playing ever since Mettaton's appearance suddenly ceases. The countdown on Reimu's question also stops. "Come on, answer already," Reimu urges impatiently. _I also want to know the answer._ After thinking that, Reimu finds herself curiously wondering why her own question's options were chosen for her. It isn't like that irritates her; if anything, she finds it convenient not having to think that hard about it. But even so, it is strange and suspicious. _Is it by the same dog that's been putting up this useless narration for me?_

Somehow, this is not very strange to process for someone like Reimu. Without any warning, different background music blares through the lab: it seems to be a much faster and thrilling tune than the previous one, though the melody is mostly the same. "MY OH MY, IT LOOKS LIKE THIS QUIZ GAME IS ABOUT TO HEAT UP! YOUR MAGNIFICENT HOST HAS BEEN CHALLENGED TO A REAL, TWO-SIDED QUIZ BATTLE! AND WHO WOULD HE BE TO TURN DOWN A REQUEST FROM OUR CONTESTANT?" _So this wasn't the point all along?_ Despite her confusion, Reimu smiles. _Whatever, it's better this way._ Feeling as if she is at an equal standing to Mettaton, Reimu is satisfied. "LET THE BLOODSHED..."

 **"... BEGIN!"**

The countdown starts yet again, the screen having still remained all this time. "THE ANSWER IS OBVIOUSLY ALPHYS!" Seeing the option representing this shining in green, Reimu's eyes widen as she reminds herself of Alphys's introduction.

"Oh yeah," Reimu utters, "But that means you know her, huh?" She glances at Alphys from finally taking full note of her existence; she seems extremely panicked. Since this doesn't faze Reimu in the slightest, she shifts her attention back to Mettaton.

"SORRY DARLING, BUT IT'S MY TURN TO ASK THE QUESTIONS NOW!" The second screen hovers as the question surfaces on it.

'Who will be the mediator for the quiz battle?'

At that question, Reimu finds herself confused.

"Mediator? Since when were we going to have something like that?" She reads through the options the screen has:

'A: Mettaton'

'B: Sans'

'C: Alphys'

'D: You'

"... Sans?" Reimu instinctively questions out loud, considering the option to be strange. _Does this robot know him?_

"WRONG!" Without the time to process it, Reimu sees her option shining red and a ray of lightning aimed towards her. Reimu attempts to simply dodge out of its way, but it seems as though it's targeting her soul, and that's where the attacks connects.

A sudden headache is what she feels from the attack, only for her movements to slow down slightly. "What the heck?! I didn't actually answer anything yet!" Angry at this injustice, Reimu accusingly points her Purification Rod Mettaton's way.

"THAT'S FOR OUR MEDIATOR TO DECIDE!" Mettaton shifts its robotic body to Alphys's direction. "ISN'T IT, ALPHYS?"

Alphys flinches as a spotlight shines on her position. A few moments pass...

 **. . .**

"Y... yes...?" she awkwardly answers, as if no other words had come to mind before.

"THEN LET'S HEAR THE VERDICT!" Mettaton immediately exclaims afterwards, hoping to cover the awkward mood smoothly.

Reimu crosses her arms impatiently. _We should just go on with this already,_ she thinks, _I could ask this robot all about those lasers blocking me._ Seeing as the options for Reimu's questions are self-generated, she can ask whatever she wants and have her answer, she notes. This is extremely convenient, so she finds a need to continue this battle so as to interrogate Mettaton. "W-well, it..."

"It l-looked like y-y-you were cheating, Mettaton!" Alphys says, clearly nervous. "You c-can't assume she's g-going to answer! S-so..." Reimu begins tapping her foot out of reflex, lost on whether she should interrupt the situation or wait it out; she is leaning on the former option. "This battle's c-cancelled!"

The screens disappear the moment Alphys utters that. "No way!" Reimu throws five amulets in Alphys's direction, causing Alphys to jump back in absolute horror. As Reimu hadn't bothered making those home on in on their target, Alphys manages to miraculously dodge said projectiles. "Who said you had to be the mediator anyway?! I'm going to win this battle and you're not going to stop me!"

 **'*You force the quiz battle back on.'**

The screens all return. "NOW NOW, DARLING. DOCTOR ALPHYS WAS JUST DOING HER WONDERFUL JOB AS THE MEDIATOR." Despite seemingly trying to calm Reimu down, Mettaton's voice is consistently loud and confident so as to give off the same tension as always to what Reimu can assume to be the audience watching. "WE WOULD NEVER STOOP AS LOW AS LASHING OUR DRAW OUT ON HER. INSTEAD..." From behind him, Mettaton takes out a chainsaw. The background music accelerates further.

 **'*The battle has been overridden.'**

"... WE WOULD HAVE A BLOODY REMATCH LIKE PROPER GENTLEBEAUTIES!" Reimu's hand twitches in pure irritation.

With eyes conveying nothing but fury, Reimu exclaims, "Fine, whatever! I'll get you all to answer me right after I've beaten you up!" Though Reimu thought she'd get the first turn, the fact that the battle has been overridden is further evidenced by a suddenly charging Mettaton, whose turn had prematurely arrived. Out of reflex, Reimu manages to dodge the oncoming, seemingly deadly chainsaw, but notes Mettaton's movements could have been much faster.

Either way, Reimu ends up unscathed. Taking the fact that Mettaton is nearby as a chance, she rushes through the rest of the distance separating them to land a clean hit on him a fairly strong magical amulet, seeing as hitting metal with practically a stick, albeit a purifying one, isn't the best of ideas. Despite the energy the amulet contained clearly releasing itself onto Mettaton, he is somehow unaffected as he moves back from Reimu.

Clearly confused, Reimu watches as her turn ends without having dealt any damage to Mettaton. "W-wait!" She hears Alphys's voice. Reimu shifts her attention to her, assuming she could have an explanation. "Th-there's no way you can beat him now, he, uh... H-he's invincible! I-it'd be i-i-impossible!"

"Invincible? But that's basically cheating," Reimu says, glaring at Mettaton as he readies what seem to be miniature flying versions of him holding a tiny umbrella. "So you're cheating again?"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, DARLING? THERE ARE NO RULES NOW, SO NO ONE CAN CHEAT!" Mettaton counters at the precise moment the miniature versions of him start shooting out fairly slow-moving projectiles towards Reimu's soul, as he felt like attacking Reimu from afar is probably a better idea. "THE WINNER WILL BE THE LAST ONE STANDING!"

"That's not fair at all! If you're invincible, the last one standing will be you in the end!" Though she had been angry before, Reimu is somehow at an even worse mood than before from this turn of events.

"BINGO!" Mettaton's screen flashes yellow and red. "YOUR ANSWER IS CORRECT. PREPARE TO DIE, DARLING!" Fortunately, it is still Reimu's turn.

For a moment, Reimu glares him down. Then, her eyes only faintly glint with the spotlight's light. It seems as though she is concentrating. A spellcard arises. **"Divine Spirit..."** The screens waver, flashing in and out of existence.

 **'*The battle has been over-overridden.'**

 **"Fantasy Seal..."** Alphys can only stare in awe as the existing screens completely cease to function in the area and the spotlights flicker. On Reimu's hand is a handful of amulets, though they are not even close to the number she will be throwing. As if seeing through Mettaton, her gaze is determined as she positions herself. _**"Blink!"**_

Suddenly, Reimu is everywhere. Running in a straight line, she leaves behind innumerable amulets of a grey color. Though Mettaton manages to move away from her path, he also finds Reimu behind him dispensing the same amount of amulets. Unnerved, he immediately attempts to make sure he is faced forward in relation to Reimu, but she is no longer in the position he initially thought she was. Yet again, she manages to be behind him despite having just been in the opposite side.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't catch up to the 'speed' of Reimu, and before he could try to do so, the flurry of amulets that were stopped before scatter. In truth, Reimu is only moving in a straight line, and there is only one of her within the barrier she has set up. However, that isn't how it is seen from anyone's perspective. As orbs of light rain down on the amulet storm at almost unprocessable speeds, the countless Reimus that can be seen running through the area come to a halt. Reimu is standing right in front of Mettaton, but from the way one can't truly see the boundary limiting the tiny pocket dimension constructed by Reimu, she is seen in all directions: blocking what lies beyond said barrier, but invisible and intangible, that boundary leads Reimu to her original position if she moves towards it, as there is no other space within the barrier to begin with; it is akin to a self-sustaining loop within a pocket dimension.

Naturally, the rules of the Underground don't apply. There was no proper Underground battle to begin with once Reimu triggered that spellcard. Even so, as she makes this barrier dissolve, a screen fades into existence.

 **'*You won!'**

Fortunately, Reimu used a spellcard, which is a non-lethal attack. Otherwise, Mettaton's fate would have been uncertain. Reimu huffs as she notices that she did manage to damage Mettaton, though not greatly. "It looks like you weren't that invincible after all." _If anything, he just had really high defenses,_ Reimu thinks, _So she definitely was wrong when she said that. Maybe it was an exaggeration?_

... Mettaton notices that the spotlights and cameras have all stopped working. However, he isn't the first to speak, as he initially intended. "Oh my God, y-you..." Alphys utters, almost as if out of breath. **"YOU'RE AMAZING!"** Admittedly, the reaction confuses Reimu. "The way you just focused and made a whole different dimension a-and then you were everywhere and the amulets were everywhere and there were projectiles a-all over the place and— Uh, a-and, aaah, everything!" From the amazingly fast way Alphys spoke, Reimu only managed to understand the last part, when she interrupted herself. She had probably noticed her own incomprehensible speed while talking and stopped herself in shame. "It was l-like... like an a-a-anime!"

"An 'anime'? What's that supposed to mean?" Reimu asks, wondering about what sort of compliment she is even receiving. "Whatever, I just need to know what's going on here! So I'll start by asking the robot over there!" _At least he seems like he can talk properly,_ Reimu thinks as she turns to Mettaton.

A corner of his screen seems cracked. "YOU WANT ANSWERS, DARLING? THEN GO ASK FOR THEM AFTER I GET PATCHED UP. I NEED ALPHYS MORE THAN YOU RIGHT NOW." What part of his screen still functions is shining in red as he speaks. "I'VE GOT TO ADMIT. I DIDN'T IMAGINE YOU'D GO THIS OVERBOARD. OTHERWISE, I WOULDN'T HAVE AGREED TO ANY OF THIS. REALLY, DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT ACTING IS? YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT TO SUPPOSED TO DAMAGE ME, DARLING. IT'LL LOOK BAD ON TV."

"It's because I have no idea of what's going on that I had to go overboard. It looked like you were cheating," Reimu counters, offended at Mettaton attributing the blame for the situation on her. "Besides, how do you expect me to do any acting without saying anything beforehand?"

"EVERY ACTOR HAS TO IMPROVISE AT SOME POINT," he responds. "BUT TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO KNOW ANYTHING TO BEGIN WITH."

"W-wait, Mettaton, what are you—"

"ALPHYS, PLEASE. DOES IT LOOK LIKE WE CAN TRICK THIS HUMAN? SHE WAS SEEING THROUGH US FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. I EVEN HAD TO APPEAR EARLIER JUST TO SAVE YOU FROM SPILLING EVERYTHING TO HER," Mettaton states, not having allowed Alphys to finish her shock-stricken words. "YOU'RE SMART. YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO TELL WE'VE GOT NO CHANCES AGAINST HER."

Alphys finds herself so shocked that she can't speak out properly. "I-I..." She hadn't expected this outcome at all. She did tempt the possibility of screwing up somewhere, but the problem seems to solely lie on how powerful, lucky and observant Reimu is. Such a great individual surely wouldn't be able to fall for the web of lies Alphys wanted to create, and she can process that somewhat clearly. However, it still affected her.

"I knew you were both up to something!" Reimu points at Alphys. "She was acting weird from the very beginning. You were trying to stop me from getting to the king's castle, weren't you?" Alphys cannot provide Reimu with an answer in the state she is in.

"SHE WAS," Mettaton answers in her stead, "BUT NOT FOR THE REASONS YOU'D THINK."

Reimu raises an eyebrow skeptically at him. "What do you mean with that?"

"IN SHORT, SHE WANTED TO BE PART OF YOUR ADVENTURE. AND HOW COULD SHE BE PART OF AN ADVENTURE IF THE HEROINE DOESN'T HAVE ANY OBSTACLES ONLY SHE CAN CLEAR OUT FOR HER?" Reimu narrows her eyes, as if finding that doubtful, strange or hard to understand.

"What part of this adventure is that good anyway? I've just been walking and beating weak enemies up." She crosses her arms and shifts her attention to a still shocked Alphys. She assumes Alphys is listening to her, and perhaps that's why she hasn't found in her the courage to speak up. "But basically, you want to help me out, right? Then just take out the lasers blocking me. That's what I've wanted the whole time, you know? I don't really care if you need obstacles or whatever; It's not like this whole thing is about you anyway," she states, "I've actually got somewhere to return to. I don't want to have to deal with this whole thing."

Alphys sets her sight on the white floor of the lab. Reimu's apathy is almost palpable, and her honesty stings. Even though Alphys just wanted to do something useful and not to screw up for once, she ended up making a fool out of herself in front of someone who seems like she came straight out of an anime. "I'm s-sorry..." She slowly takes a step back. She is preparing to escape. Though both Reimu and Mettaton notice this, Mettaton is the first to speak up.

"WAIT A SECOND THERE, DARLING!" he exclaims, managing to attain Reimu's full attention. She seems as curious as she is confused; the perfect state of mind for him to apply the improvised plan that came to his mind. "ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO LEAVE AND NEVER COME BACK? AFTER ALL, EVEN IF YOU GET PAST THE LASERS, YOU STILL DON'T KNOW HOW TO CROSS THE BARRIER TRAPPING US UNDERGROUND, DO YOU?"

Reimu's expression immediately turns fully serious. "You know something for sure. Spit it out." _He doesn't sound like he's bluffing either._ Otherwise, Reimu could tell.

It seems like Mettaton truly does know the way to cross the barrier. "I COULD DO THAT... IF YOU DO ME A LITTLE FAVOR."

"I've beaten you up, you've got no right to demand anything!" Reimu counters, seemingly irritated. The answer she wants most is supposedly so close to her, and yet she needs to waste more time doing something unrelated? Not when she is so close to the castle.

"THEN IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CROSS ON YOUR OWN, DARLING." Reimu's grip on her Purification Rod tightens considerably, and her free hand forms a fist.

"Don't think you can just mess with me like that," Reimu says, more fury pouring out of her seemingly calm words than when she was shouting back at her battle with Mettaton. "I'm not here on a field trip. I need to get back, no matter what. If you're not planning on telling me how to leave this place, I'll beat you up again and move on."

Even Mettaton could feel that he was messing with more danger than he should be, but he isn't one to give up. "WITHOUT GETTING THE LASERS OUT OF YOUR WAY?"

Reimu's eye twitches. "I'll do that after beating you up, too!" Somehow, Mettaton manages to subside some of her anger.

"DARLING, LET'S BE REASONABLE. I'M ONLY ASKING ONE FAVOR OUT OF YOU," Mettaton says as he raises one finger up to Reimu's line of sight. "ONE SHOW. IF YOU AGREE TO PARTICIPATE IN ONLY ONE OF MY SHOWS, I WILL TELL YOU HOW TO CROSS THE BARRIER. NO MORE, NO LESS. IT'LL BE A PROMISE BETWEEN THE TWO OF US. HOW ABOUT IT?"

"You say that like it's nothing special, but it'll be like the show you were doing before, right?" Reimu asks with a skeptical expression. "If you think I'll let myself be set up again, you're wrong."

"THERE'S NO NEED TO WORRY THIS TIME." Mettaton briefly turns to the side, where Alphys is, as if to glance at her. "IN TRUTH, I NEVER WANTED TO KILL YOU TO BEGIN WITH. IT WAS ALL AN ACT FOR ALPHYS'S SAKE. BUT NOW THAT YOU KNOW EVERYTHING, I CAN JUST HAVE YOU FEATURED, WITH YOUR CONSENT TO BOOT. DON'T YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW MUCH SOMEONE LIKE YOU WOULD BOOST MY RATINGS? IT'D BE CRIMINAL NOT TO TAKE THE CHANCE WHILE I HAVE IT!"

Reimu stares at Mettaton intently. She truly doesn't feel like he is lying, but she doesn't find it a good idea to simply do his favor. Even so, the more she thinks about it, the more she realizes the hypocrisy in that stance seeing as she did a favor for Sans. Besides, at this point, Reimu has wasted plenty of time already. She will even have to do so willingly by backtracking all the way to Snowdin to meet Papyrus again at least once. "One show, huh... I don't even know how any of that works, but you just want me to be part of it, right? I guess I could do that."

It also seems like Mettaton will tell her how to cross the barrier, which will admittedly be helpful for Reimu. "SPLENDID! I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU!"

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Reimu immediately asks, as if to rush through it as much as possible.

"NOT SO FAST, DARLING! CAN'T YOU SEE THE MESS YOU'VE MADE OUT OF MY WONDERFUL BODY? HOW COULD I EVER BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT LOOKING LIKE THIS?" _It's not_ that _broken..._ Even so, the scratches and broken screens are definitely noticeable so it isn't like Reimu can't understand why Mettaton would be against showing himself. "BEFORE WE CAN EVEN PLAN THE SHOW OUT, DOCTOR ALPHYS HERE WILL NEED TO FIX ME UP!"

Reimu frowns. "So I've got to wait for that? How long will that take anyway?"

"SURELY NOT AS LONG AS YOU'D THINK! THIS CAN SERVE AS A CHANCE FOR YOU TO DO SOMETHING YOU THOUGHT YOU COULDN'T DO BEFORE. AT LEAST, YOU CAN BE SURE I'LL BE READY WHEN YOU'RE DONE." _Something I thought I couldn't do before?_ Reimu becomes deep in thought for a few moments.

 _Like seeing Papyrus or something? In a way, I guess it would be more efficient seeing him while Mettaton is getting ready..._ "Alright, I can deal with that," Reimu responds, "I've just figured out something to do, after all."

"GREAT! THEN YOU CAN GO DO THAT WHILE I GET ALPHYS TO REPAIR ME!" Mettaton clarifies, giving Reimu a thumbs up.

Reimu lazily waves at Mettaton. "I'll see you later, then."

"TOODLES!" Reimu turns around so as to walk away from Mettaton and Alphys, having no more business in the lab for now. Though it will most likely be troublesome, Reimu has found a way to know how to cross the barrier for sure. She may not even need to see the king of the Underground at this rate. At least, she will finally be able to move with a clear goal in mind when it comes to the barrier.

"W-w-wait!" Reimu halts in her tracks. She recognizes this as Alphys's voice. Curious, albeit not all that motivated, Reimu turns to her as if she were any other person. "I..." Alphys pauses while looking towards the ground, almost as if tears could pour out from her eyes at this very moment. "I'm sorry. I-I was almost going to do horrible things to you. And even at that, I screwed up... I was being s-selfish. I w-wasn't considering your feelings at all." Just to say this much, to stop Reimu before it was too late to speak up already takes up the extent of Alphys's confidence. From the pressure of Reimu's deathly neutral gaze, she finds herself not only unable to keep eye contact, but trembling slightly under her full attention. It's as if Reimu is seeing through her, through all possible boundaries otherwise impossible for any other eyes to witness. To someone like Alphys, it's a scary feeling. Scary, yet awe-inducing. Alphys can't bring herself to speak further.

So this is the brightness and greatness of the determined protagonists of anime and manga.

... So this, certainly, is the full brightness and greatness of Reimu Hakurei in comparison to the horrible person Alphys believes herself to be. To such a supposedly dark existence, the bright sun that is Reimu says this, "You better have learned your lesson. Though, I didn't beat you up at all in the end." Reimu smiles nervously while saying that before returning to a more or less faint frown. "Anyway, you wanted to help me or something, right?" Just as Alphys looks up at Reimu, she locks eyes with her. Not a single trace of hatefulness can be seen in Reimu's gaze; nothing akin to a grudge seems to be within her. Her expression remains the same. "You know, you wouldn't have made such a fool out of yourself if you had actually just offered to help me out at something to begin with."

With that, Reimu turns around and starts walking away again, leaving a shocked Alphys behind.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

After having defeated Meiling, Futo entered what she doesn't know to be the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Its interior is unlike any habitation she has witnessed in her time: the materials used for its structure and visible furniture are different, and it seems to be quite the dark mansion; windows are almost non-existent. Its hallways vary in length, but it's at least certain to Futo that they are littered with fairies flying about; a bad omen, Futo notes. What would such supernatural creatures be gathering in this area for? Dressed in such a strange, frilly fashion, to boot.

It's then she opens a fairly large door to reveal a sort of living room... before having to jump to the side so as to dodge oncoming knives. They swiftly hit the floor, while Futo has her arms up from their normal position in unease, having admittedly gotten surprised at the sudden attack. However, as she now notices, the knives weren't meant for her to begin with. "To think I will have to leave the mansion at such a busy time..." A girl in a costume similar to the one Futo saw in the fairies wandering the halls remarks with a slightly thoughtful expression, facing Alice.

The knives just thrown were probably her last attack before defeat, Futo assumes. Alice won the battle just now. Futo scans the surroundings... Her eyes widen. "Lady Marisa? What art thou...?"

"Oh, Futo!" Marisa calls out, as if she has just remembered her existence. "Your timing sure sucks. Alice got our new search party member just now." Futo did spend a considerable amount of time walking through the mansion so as to find her path towards Marisa and Alice's location. However, Marisa's remark does not please Futo in the slightest.

Even so, she is still more bothered at how casually Marisa seems to be drinking tea with an ominous yet young-looking youkai and a girl with long purple hair than anything in this current situation. "I sensed a vile presence in this location, but... T'is sight is far from what I envisioned..." Though clearly not at ease, Futo's words are fairly collected.

"Hey, who's that?" The youkai, Remilia Scarlet, asks Marisa, completely uncaring of the fact that she intruded upon the mansion and most likely defeated Meiling. "Another one from your party? Huh..." She stares at Futo intently, checking her up and down. Then, she smirks. "She looks kind of funny." The cultural contrast brings about reactions of this sort from both sides. However, Futo does not consider Remilia 'funny' in the slightest.

"She defeated Meiling to get in, didn't she?" The girl sitting next to her, Patchouli, looks towards Futo with a seemingly neutral frown. "Our cats truly are useless. I'd say they need more training, Remi."

"Well, wouldn't this search party count in Sakuya's case? She'll find Reimu and kill the fool who thought it was a good idea to mess with her." Remilia narrows her eyes, though her smirk does not waver. "Then, she'll bring Reimu over here so we can have a rematch and everything will be alright again. It will be the perfect training."

"I think you meant, 'the perfect victory'," Patchouli corrects with the same almost apathetic expression, completely aware of her obvious ulterior motives.

"Either way, we're taking Sakuya with us," Alice says from the other side of the room, "because she's definitely going to come in handy." She did want to beat Sakuya, so Alice is in a rather good mood at the moment.

Meanwhile, Sakuya remains slightly thoughtful. "Should I bring anything other than knives along, I wonder..."

... Futo takes in this strangely casual atmosphere before warily uttering, "For 'tis evident your exploits in this location are done already, I shall wait for you outside." It's also evident that she would be unable to properly get along and converse with the people of the mansion, so she feels the need to escape before causing any sort of trouble for Marisa and Alice. "Farewell." The heavy doors to this room shut tightly behind her as she leaves with an uneasy expression, the scene that she has just seen remaining fresh in her mind.

"Look, your party member just left," Remilia points out, slightly curious about that but not enough to leave her tea behind and act upon it.

Marisa shrugs. "Well, I'd be bummed too if I missed out on all the action," she casually responds, not particularly bothered as she finishes her tea.

"She beat up the gatekeeper, right? Then she's got no reason to complain," Alice retorts with only a single glance at the door Futo came through. "Now, aren't we going to move out? We've got to have at least a couple more people to make up an actual search party. Besides, the more time we waste, the more likely it'll be for anything to happen to Reimu if it hasn't already."

"Even though you were all-out refusin' to help us before, you sure are motivated now." Marisa leaves her seat and stretches her arms, readying herself for more flying around Gensokyo. Her time at the Scarlet Devil Mansion was more of a break than anything (though Futo and Alice didn't rest at all), and now she knows she must move on. Despite her remark, Marisa is also rather motivated to retrieve Reimu.

"If I'm going to be part of this, I want it done properly," is Alice's simple counter to Marisa as she frowns ever so slightly, thinking Marisa is implying she shouldn't be motivated.

"'Properly' is a word I'd hardly attribute to most these members, however," Patchouli calmly mutters, "One can only wonder about the shrine maiden's fate from here on out."

"I can always look for her myself when night falls if they fail. Though, I personally don't think that'll happen." Remilia's eyes narrow, a vacant smile on her face as her gaze falls almost completely on Marisa despite having responded to Patchouli's statement.

"See?" Marisa points at Remilia. "Even Remilia thinks we're gonna find Reimu so shut it, Patchouli!" At this, Remilia chuckles amusedly, though Patchouli, the one who is supposed to have a reaction, seems unfazed.

"Well, seeing as I will also set out to retrieve Reimu, I can only think this mission will be successful," Sakuya says, a calm smile on her face indicating confidence. "There will be nothing to worry about."

Alice is already moving towards the room's exit, seemingly determined. "We're leaving now." She isn't displeased, but she is slightly impatient, wanting to get her task done as quickly as possible.

"They say haste makes waste," Patchouli says.

"Does it look like I'm being hasty? This much is fine," Alice retorts while near the door, waiting on Marisa and Sakuya. "This is serious business, after all."

"I would be lying if I said otherwise," Sakuya responds as she approaches Alice, "However, with me in your ranks, worrying about time is pointless; being hasty would only tire you. Though, with such energy, perhaps you do need to tire yourself out."

"Crushing you was enough exercise to do that, don't you worry," Alice retorts with a wry smile on her face. For a moment, Sakuya and Alice lock eyes as if they wished to battle again.

"If you both wanna hurry on out, you sure don't look like it, arguin' like that," Marisa remarks. "Besides, I'm the one who's supposed to be ordering you two around. Just because."

... Sakuya and Alice lock eyes again. "This is what I've had to put up with," Alice says.

"I imagine that was rather troubling for you," Sakuya responds.

Marisa rushes over to both of them and points at the door with a somewhat irritated expression. "We're moving out!" However, before they could all move, the doors are suddenly slammed open. A flurry of white flies out from it as if knocked back, but that isn't all.

Lasers shoot out from the other side of the now opened doors before the little sister of Remilia flies her way in. Looking towards the other end of the room, all can see a grimacing Futo still floating. "Heed my words! A most vile creature hath layed ambush on me!" she shouts, spellcard in hand.

"She's the one who was muttering stuff about setting places on fire," Flandre retorts while pointing at Futo, "You'd think she'd let me in on the fun, but she picked a fight instead." She then shrugs. "They're pretty much at the same level, so I suppose it's fine but, you know? It isn't very considerate putting the blame on me."

... Leaving the strange wording from Flandre aside, everyone mutters the exact same thing: "'Setting places on fire'...?"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Reimu sneezes. _This contrast in temperatures really isn't pleasant..._ From the scorching Hotland to the freezing Snowdin, it's somewhat difficult to believe such diverse areas even exist in the collectivity of the Underground. After waving the River Person goodbye, Reimu walks forward, already seeing the familiar houses of the town from afar.

Reimu's presence doesn't particularly match the town's as she enters it, and she doesn't spare any other monster nearby a glance. After all, she already knows where to go: to Papyrus. More specifically, his house.

At least, she assumes that is where Papyrus is. _He better not be out doing whatever it is he does,_ Reimu thinks as she picks up her pace, growing slightly impatient. The monsters she has spoken to shift their attention to her as she walks by, but none approach her at the sight of her clearly determined expression; there is simply no way she would not have some sort of goal as she is walking.

When she reaches Papyrus and Sans's house, she doesn't bother knocking and simply enters; the door was unlocked. "Papyrus?" she calls out, looking through the living room for any signs of him. She then hears a door being flung open from above. _So he's on the first floor?_

"HUMAN?!" Papyrus dashes down the stairs, having recognized Reimu by her voice alone. "SO YOU'VE ARRIVED! WITHOUT KNOCKING, TOO!"

Reimu glances to the side. "Well, I wanted to get this over with quickly."

"IT'S GREAT KNOWING YOU'RE EAGER TO LEARN!" Taking Reimu's reaction as positive somehow, Papyrus seems excited as well. "SINCE YOU COULD APPEAR AT ANY TIME, I HAVE GOTTEN EVERYTHING PREPARED IN ADVANCE! ALL THE WISDOM I HAVE GATHERED WILL COMPLETELY BLOW YOUR MIND! IT WILL BE BEYOND YOUR EXPECTATIONS! IT WILL INDUCE AWE UPON YOUR VERY SOUL! AND THEN YOU WILL FINALLY ADMIRE ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

 _... He revealed his ulterior motives just now, didn't he?_ "NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! I HAVE READ UP ON EVERY BOOK FROM THE LIBRARY AND SUMMARIZED ALL IMPORTANT CONTENT IN A SINGLE, ULTIMATE PRESENTATION! IT IS LYING DORMANT IN MY ROOM AT THIS VERY MOMENT, WAITING FOR YOU TO COME OVER!"

"If you say so," Reimu responds, not nearly as motivated as Papyrus is. After all, she has a feeling whatever lies ahead of her won't be as great as he is depicting it to be.

"NOW, HUMAN!" Papyrus points towards the first floor. "TO MY BEDROOM!" As he runs up the stairs quicker than a speeding Marisa, Reimu simply follows behind him at a leisurely pace. Due to this, Papyrus arrives to his own bedroom much earlier than Reimu does. **"WHAT?!** "

At his surprised tone, Reimu makes her way towards Papyrus's room at a faster pace so as to witness for herself what exactly has caused the sudden commotion. _**"MY PRESENTATION!"**_ Just as Reimu approaches the door to Papyrus's room, now open, she finds herself having to dodge to the side from a white entity running through.

"Whoa!" Laying eyes on it while moving, she recognizes the entity as the white dog she has seen two times so far (excluding this one), leaving as fast as the wind from Papyrus's house with something in its mouth. Reimu didn't even have the time to do anything about it or notice what it was carrying, and while Papyrus runs down the stairs, he is in no way close to catching up to it.

"CURSES!" Riled up for negative reasons now, Papyrus makes his way up the stairs in only a moderate pace as he looks towards Reimu. "FOILED AGAIN BY THAT DOG!"

"That sounds like a recurring thing," Reimu comments, slightly curious.

"IT IS!" Papyrus immediately exclaims in response, "AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT EVEN MORE FRUSTRATING! IT USUALLY STEALS FOOD, SO I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD TAKE MY PRESENTATION!"

"Huh... I see." _This isn't my territory; it's not like I need money or recognition from the youkai here either._ Otherwise, Reimu would consider the challenge of exterminating the dog. "Anyway, that means I won't have to sit through your presentation after all, right?"

"WELL... YES," he responds as if still scrambling for an alternate way to bring back the presentation. "I MIGHT HAVE MEMORIZED WHAT TO SAY, BUT IT WOULD FEEL LACKING WITHOUT THE PROPER VISUAL AID. IT LOOKS LIKE I WILL HAVE TO CREATE A REPLACEMENT."

"You know, you don't have to do any of that," Reimu says before he can even begin thinking of concepts for whatever replacement he would have in mind. "You wouldn't want to waste my time with making another presentation. After all, I'll be busy in a while."

"YOU WILL?" he questions, seemingly curious.

Reimu nods. "I'll have to participate in a show or something like that, so it's not like I can just wait for you to finish your replacement." She isn't even aware of what exactly she'll do or how much time that would take, but she assumes Papyrus would have a better idea from being a resident of the Underground.

"HUMAN... YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN ONE OF METTATON'S SHOWS AGAIN?!" Papyrus asks with clear excitement evident in his skull. "WOWIE! THE LAST SHOW YOU WERE IN SOMEHOW GOT CUT OFF MIDWAY, SO I CAN ONLY LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT ONE! I SEE YOU'RE ON THE PATH TO BECOMING AS GREAT AS ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE FOR YOU TO BE BUSY. WITH THAT IN MIND, I WILL HAVE TO GIVE UP ON THE PRESENTATION FOR NOW." _For now?_ "AND INSTEAD..."

Papyrus takes out a tiny object so fast Reimu couldn't figure where it came from. "I WILL GIVE YOU A CELLPHONE!" He extends his arm towards Reimu, revealing the cellphone in its full glory. Reimu knows of cellphones, but she has never seen one quite in that shape; it confuses her. "I WAS PLANNING ON GIVING IT TO YOU AFTER THE PRESENTATION SO YOU COULD CALL ME WHENEVER YOU HAD ANY QUESTIONS! BUT THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENED." Papyrus glances to the side, displeased for a moment. "NOW I WILL HAVE TO RELY ON _YOUR_ GREATNESS AND HOPE YOU WILL BE FINE WITH TRAVELLING WITHOUT THE FULL WISDOM OF MY PRESENTATION IN YOUR MIND! HOWEVER, YOU CAN AT LEAST CALL ME AND GET THE FULL EXTENT OF MY OWN WISDOM, WHICH IS BETTER THAN ANY PRESENTATION!"

"You bought one of these things for me?" Reimu asks as she awkwardly takes the cellphone; to her, it's like a completely foreign object. Besides, Papyrus's overwhelming kindness is still very strange for her, so she couldn't help but confirm that he had indeed gone out of his way to get something for her when he had no need to do so. The thought makes her somewhat flustered, even if she considers the device itself to be more or less useless. "Uh, thanks."

"OF COURSE! I KNEW IT WOULD COME IN HANDY FOR YOU, AFTER ALL! I HAVE ALREADY ENTERED MY PHONE NUMBER IN IT, BY THE WAY. SO THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT EXCHANGING NUMBERS! YOU ARE COMPLETELY SET TO GO ON YOUR JOURNEY!" Despite Papyrus's enthusiasm, Reimu finds herself staring at the cellphone intently, wondering in what way she would ever use it.

After a while, she looks up at Papyrus. "That's great and all, but I have no idea how to use this thing."

"THEN IT LOOKS LIKE I'LL HAVE TO TEACH YOU, HUMAN!" he exclaims as if he had been waiting to hear that line for years, practically glittering with excitement.

Knowing she at least had to use up her time with Papyrus by doing something, Reimu casually responds, "Alright." Despite this, she truly cannot imagine herself wielding the foreign object in her hands...

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Though one would think she is improvising, Nue does have a semblance of a plan with her actions. By collecting a considerable amount of youkai through force alone, she will increase the restlessness of youkai; this will sooner or later affect the humans. Youkai spread as many rumors as humans do: the many accounts and perspectives of the situation will all fall on Nue's actions, but none will ever really be accurate to reality; she will remain unknown and feared, which is precisely what she wants most.

After she has had her fun, she can simply supply Marisa's team effort with all the youkai she has forced under her and have them search for Reimu; all will be well. The infallibility of all that she is doing makes Nue be permanently smirking as she flies along in search of her next prey, uncaring of the collective complaints of the youkai behind her.

"Woah there now," Nue hears a familiar voice from the side, making her immediately shift her attention to it. "Isn't that lump of youkai just a sight to marvel. Looks like you're having fun with this." Nue's expression brightens further at discovering her friend, Mamizou.

"Oh, am I! This is great!" Nue responds, "The effects of the shrine maiden's disappearance and that mountain showing up are more than palpable, and everyone is restless now. What's more, they don't even know the full extent of it!" She spins in the air, voice brimming with sheer excitement. "But what about you? You sure look busy."

"You could say that." Mamizou shrugs. "If you haven't noticed already, I'm preparing a little something for Reimu." Mamizou vaguely points behind her with the hand holding her pipe; Nue's eyes brighten considerably from mere curiosity. "In a way, great minds think alike, don't they? Though my reasons are just the slightest bit different."

"I can see that," Nue says before assuming a pensive expression. "Hmmm... You know what? I was thinking of giving these youkai away to the witch so she could search for Reimu, but what you're doing seems much better. I want in!" She mischievously smiles as she thinks of Marisa. "It's not like this won't help the cause anyway."

... Mamizou's smirk widens. "Well, I was just about to ask you to join in, but it looks like you've got that covered already."

"Of course," Nue answers, "Don't I always?"

Both chuckle, amused at each other's antics.

"Then it's settled," Mamizou says, sheer confidence irradiating off of her, "Together, we're getting this party on the road."

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"I'LL SEE YOU LATER, HUMAN!" Papyrus exclaims as Reimu steps out of his house, now with her cellphone inside her bag.

In return, Reimu waves at him rather casually. "Goodbye," she utters before making her way towards her left, where she would find a path in the town leading to the Riverperson, who seems more than willing to let her ride on their boat. _I guess they turned out useful after all,_ Reimu thinks. She didn't expect having to need a ride in someone's boat, and in a way, she could have just flied, but the path would be the same anyway; there was no need to refuse the boat ride.

However, just as she finds herself close to Grillby's, she sees a familiar, recurring figure in the horizon. "Sans?" She doesn't even bother greeting him and simply approaches him, assuming he has some sort of business with her to have stalked her all the way over here.

"heya," he casually greets, not even bothering to lift his arm for a wave. "didn't think you'd come back to snowdin. y'know. since you were adamant about not backtracking and all that."

"Well, it became convenient now, so I went for it," Reimu responds with a neutral expression on her face. "I'm supposed to fill time for a favor I'm about to do."

"lemme guess. it has something to do with mettaton?"

"If you mean the robot, then you're right." She faintly had an idea of his name, but it didn't correspond to what it actually is in reality; at least, Sans confirmed it to her now. "Not that you were actually making a guess. You just stalked me, didn't you?"

"if seeing you on tv counts, then sure." He winks, somewhat amused at the fact that Reimu assumes he is constantly watching her; though, she isn't too far from the truth. "papyrus looked pretty excited when he saw you there. too bad that it got cut off all of a sudden."

 _I guess there really were people watching... So the box they have in the living room is for that? It doesn't seem very necessary._ Even so, Reimu doesn't care enough to think further about this topic. "hey. buddy." However, just as she was about to announce that she was parting ways with him yet again, he spoke up. "how about we grab something to eat at grillby's?" Reimu narrows her eyes, as if suspecting his intentions. "you wanted to fill up time, right? then you might as well."

Seeing as that was true, Reimu really doesn't have a reason to decline the offer. "Sure." Besides, she is admittedly curious about why he would invite her in the first place. "I could use something to eat anyway."

"welp. then let's go in." With that, Sans simply walks towards the building known as 'Grillby's', opens the door and holds it open for Reimu. Without much hesitation or thought put into it, Reimu walks through, taking in the somewhat relaxed mood of the bar. To her right, there are a few monsters sitting down, drinking; and to her left was a group of dog-like monsters Reimu can faintly recognize.

Just as they spot Reimu, said dog monsters freeze on their spot and make not even a single sound, as if that would suddenly make them invisible to her. However, seeing as Reimu can only faintly recognize them, she doesn't care about their presence in the slightest and merely heads towards the open seats she detects, glancing back at Sans to see if he is following her.

Confirming that he is, she sits down before him, still looking rather neutral to her surroundings. She knows that there are only youkai in the Underground, so it makes perfect sense for this building to be full of them as well. Though the way it's laid out differs slightly from what she is used to, there is nothing that strikes her as odd about Grillby's. When Sans finally sits next to her, she looks up at who she assumes to be the owner: it is a youkai solely composed of fire wearing a suit fitting of a bartender, though to Reimu, this isn't recognizable. "You order," Reimu says to Sans, who is at her right, "I don't know what's served here."

The group of dogs dashes towards the exit in fear as Sans answers, "ok." None bother to check the leaving dogs, as one usually assumes people leave and enter public establishments such as this one. Reimu doesn't mind Sans's overly casual response either, as she isn't in the most spirited of moods to begin with. "grillby, we'll have a double order of burg." The fire monster behind the counter sets off in a rather calm pace, as if not particularly busy; there aren't that many customers inside, after all. "sound good?" Sans asks Reimu, only for her to shrug.

"How should I know? I just told you I don't know what's served here." Besides, the lack of booze in that order disappoints her ever so slightly, though she knows now wouldn't be the best time to drink. "If it isn't good, I'll just hold you responsible and beat you up or something."

"fair enough."

 **. . .**

Reimu doesn't bother breaking the silence. In fact, she's finding it rather nice when it comes to unwinding from all that she has done throughout the Underground. She would've wanted to find a way out already, but it isn't going that smoothly. With that in mind, it at least would be good to have a break, like how she took a nap in Papyrus and Sans's house. Not that this was part of her plans either: if anything, she just wanted to beat everything up and immediately find a way out. "so. looks like you're getting closer to leaving the underground."

Reimu doesn't have an answer to that: she is sure she talked about this to Sans already when she saw him in Hotland. "you know. in any normal time, i'd have some dramatic spiel for you. something you'd need to hear after the journey you've gone through. in a way, i still do. but, well." Sans narrows his eye sockets. "it just wouldn't fit you. you could say it wasn't made for you to hear."

"Then, why did you invite me here to begin with?" Reimu asks, wanting to get straight to the point. In the end, this is what she wanted to know the most, after all.

"because i still felt like i needed to tell you something. anything. or else, this would all be pointless," Sans states, "you get it? when someone goes on a journey, they usually learn a lesson of some kind. but what have you learned?" This isn't a rhetoric question; it seems like Sans does want to hear Reimu's answer.

She gives it a few moments of thought. "What _is_ there to learn? I just fell down here and need to get out. It's not like I'm the one who needs to learn anyway. You're the ones who should learn a thing or two about not causing trouble. I'm just doing what I always do."

"and that's the point. you aren't gonna change any time soon. this isn't the place for it. you're not even remotely from these parts, and you don't fit in at all," Sans elaborates, "in a way, wouldn't that mean there's no purpose to you being here? that in the grand scheme of things, none of this has any meaning?" The white pupils Sans has in his eye sockets fade away, emphasizing the hollowness of his skeleton form. "that this timeline... was never meant to exist?" After such a question, Sans shrugs as if he had said nothing special, seemingly back to normal. "just my existential two cents on it. you could even say it's some food for thought to fill your time while the burgers are coming."

The joke doesn't register for Reimu, as she doesn't care for it. Instead, she frowns, clearly displeased. "Now that's just rude. You're saying that as if I wasn't meant to exist."

"who knows?" Noticing Reimu's glare on him, he says, "welp. sorry about that. guess that food for thought tasted just like papyrus's spaghetti. not off to the best of starts, huh?"

Reimu huffs in response. "You're just over-thinking this whole thing. What if I'm not meant to be here? It's not like I've got any choice in the matter to begin with. Besides, stuff like that can't just be an accident."

"i never said it was." After his rather ominous answer, he decides it'd be better to shift the topic away for something else. "but, uh. putting that aside. you know why i've been watching over you all this time?" he asks as Grillby finally re-enters the room with two plates on each arm, which one can only assume to be the two ordered burgers.

"Not at all. You're going to tell me now?" Reimu admittedly didn't expect that. If anything, she thought she was going to leave the Underground without ever knowing Sans's motivations.

Seeing her curious expression, Sans says, "i was planning on giving you a scare about it, but. well, i figured that wasn't a good idea. after all, you could take me out in seconds if you wanted to. it wouldn't work out all that well." Grillby sets the plates on the table, making them both finally notice their food. "oh, look. there's the grub. want any ketchup?" He takes a ketchup bottle out of his jacket.

"I'll pass," Reimu responds, not interested in condiments at all, especially when she doesn't even know what exactly they are. "Just go on with what you were saying." She doesn't even glance at the burger, instead locking her curious gaze onto Sans.

"wait a sec," he says before taking out the cap of the ketchup bottle and proceeding to drink the entirety of its contents in almost no time flat. If anything, he truly did take a second with that action. Despite this, Reimu simply notes that as weird and moves on from it quickly in her mind. "there you go." He puts the bottle over the counter. "anyway, where was i? oh yeah. as you know, i'm a sentry. and i've got a station at snowdin forest," he explains in a rather casual tone, "i watch out for humans over there. it's kind of boring. fortunately, deep in the forest... there's this HUGE locked door. and it's perfect for practicing knock knock jokes."

"Isn't that the door leading to the Ruins?" Reimu aks, somewhat curious.

"i dunno. never went in there." He shrugs. "so. one day, i'm knocking 'em out like usual. i knock on the door and say 'knock knock'. and suddenly, from the other side, i hear a woman's voice. 'who's there?'"

"Isn't that Toriel?" Reimu asks again, interrupting Sans. _Was it Toriel? Maybe it was Turial or something..._

"i dunno. i never got her name." He shrugs again. _He doesn't know much, does he?_ "so. naturally, i respond: 'dishes'." _I have a feeling I know where this is going..._ "'dishes who?'" Reimu steels herself for the possibly humorless joke that will come from Sans. "'dishes a very bad joke.'" Truly, Reimu isn't even smiling. Sans winks at her, but to no effect. "then she just howls with laughter. like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years." _So her sense of humor was also bad._ "so i keep 'em coming, and she keeps laughing. she's the best audience i've ever had." _I guess I'd consider any joke funny when locked up in a cramped place like the Ruins._ "then, after a dozen of them, SHE knocks and says: 'knock knock!' i say 'who's there?'"

"You can just skip that joke," Reimu interjects before Sans can continue his story, thinking he might spend more of his time depicting the jokes uttered by both him and Toriel (even without clear confirmation from Sans, Reimu simply has a feeling it's Toriel) than actually getting to the point. "Or all of them, really."

"you sure?" Reimu's blank look says it all; she doesn't bother actually responding. "if you say so." As he sees her taking the burger with both hands and taking a casual bite out of it, Sans continues his story, "anyway. eventually, i had to leave. papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story. but she told me to come by again, and so i did. then i did again. and again. it's a thing now. telling jokes through the door. it rules." Sans seems genuinely happy stating this, Reimu notes as she takes another bite out of her burger. Since she practically told Sans to get to the point already, she is prepared to remain quiet and eat her food, which gets absorbed into her rather than swallowed.

Said food is rather tasty, by the way. The feeling of it getting absorbed is strange at first, but Reimu is slowly getting used to it. Sans pauses for a moment, as if to remember something of great importance. "one day, though, i noticed she wasn't laughing very much. i asked her what was up. then she told me something strange. 'if a human ever comes through this door, could you please, please promise something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?' now, i hate making promises. and this woman, i don't even know her name. you say it's toriel though. but i had no idea."

"To be honest, I pretty much forgot," Reimu responds, "But I have feeling it's Toriel."

"guess we'll never know." Reimu notices Sans hasn't touched his burger at all, but doesn't care enough to comment about it for now.

"Basically, you promised her you'd watch over me or something like that?" Reimu asks so as to better conclude Sans's story, knowing her interruptions have led to a rather sloppy account.

"yep. i was just gonna imply that by telling you i couldn't say no to people who genuinely like bad jokes, but you beat me to it. and that's the end of that."

"Huh..." Reimu utters as she finds herself halfway through her burger. "That was kind of awkward. Anyway, I don't really need anyone's protection, so it's not like you had to go out of your way to do anything."

"i know. but i couldn't just leave her promise hanging," Sans responds. "besides. i've had an interesting time watching over you. so it's not like it wasn't worth it."

"But in the end, it was a really pointless promise," Reimu retorts before taking another bite out of her burger.

"i wouldn't say that." Sans glances to the side, seemingly amused. "if i hadn't made that promise, i would've had to try to kill you. needless to say you wouldn't be the one having a bad time."

"So it's more of a promise for your own sake than for mine," Reimu says as she narrows her eyes, "You really would have regretted ambushing me back at that door." If he had come with the intentions of killing Reimu without notice, she would have countered just as fiercely; it wouldn't have ended well for Sans. While a fight under stated conditions would make the chances uncertain for Reimu, an ambush to target her life would undoubtedly force her to fight back with her actual strength, perhaps to even exterminate Sans. Such was the weight of Reimu's life, piled on by her duties, one which Reimu takes far from lightly. Conversely, Reimu lightly points at Sans's burger. "By the way, you're not going to eat that?" Reimu asks out having nothing else to talk about, as otherwise, she would have left the topic alone.

"nah. the ketchup bottle was enough for me," he casually responds.

"What a waste of money," Reimu remarks with an unsatisfied frown as she stares at the burger. Then, she finally finishes her own.

"who said i was paying?" At the very moment he says that, he feels Reimu's death glare on him. "just kidding." He winks, having already expected that reaction from her. "how about you take the burger along? it wouldn't hurt havin' one."

"I suppose so," Reimu says and nods with a smile on her face. "They don't taste too bad anyway." She then looks up at Grillby, who has been standing behind the counter throughout the whole conversation. "Hey, do you have a paper bag or something I could store this burger into?" Without any sign of politeness whatsoever, she asked this question in a completely sudden manner. However, Grillby doesn't show himself surprised; somehow, he really isn't.

Instead, without uttering a single word, he walks off. Reimu doesn't think ill of this, as she assumes it's so he can get the bag that he left. His return comes by in mere seconds, a paper bag in fiery hands, somehow not charred already. Perhaps guessing that Reimu wouldn't have liked such an action, Grillby simply gives the bag to Reimu so she can put the burger inside her. Satisfied, Reimu takes the bag as she utters a neutral, "Thanks." Her business with him over, Reimu shifts her attention to Sans while absent-mindedly taking the burger with her free hand. "Anyway, there's nothing else to talk about, right?"

"nope. but..." Reimu gives Sans an expectant look from the sudden addition to his response, wondering what else he would have to say. "well. nevermind. i'd wish you luck, but i already know you don't need it." He winks at her, referencing previous exchanges between the two. "just do what you always do, all right? till the very end."

Reimu places the now confined burger inside her bag; then, she stands up from her seat. With an easygoing smile, Reimu's answer is merely this: "That's what I intended to do in the first place." She turns around, casually waves at Sans from behind and begins walking away from him.

"heh." She hears Sans's voice as she reaches for the building's door. "see ya." Despite it being a proper way of saying goodbye, Sans muttered it; Reimu only faintly hears it as she leaves.

She doesn't look back. If anything, she assumes the moment she were to do so, he'd be gone. Besides, figuring she has wasted enough time in Snowdin, Reimu walks towards the river with a clear destination in mind.

Finally. She will finally know how to cross the barrier. Her journey is close to ending; she can feel it. With such positivity, Reimu heads for the Riverperson with the same smile still on her face from when she was conversing with Sans. Hotland is where she will have to go; she will have to see Mettaton.

After all, only with her presence will the ultimate show finally go on.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

The cheese, _the cheese...!_ X.X You're lucky I didn't stick a pun in there, really. My sense of humor is as gutsy as Sans's ^^' Kinda. Anyway, this sure took a while, I apologize. Though it wasn't a recurring thing in the first chapters, I'm pretty sure these ones will have Touhou as their start now. I just have so much content from the Touhou Side I'd like to show that it's really gotta be that way now. Besides, it's kind of amazing how much nothing actually happens if I don't have the Touhou parts alongside my chapters and that's kind of pitiful ;_; I was planning on ending this chapter with another Touhou scene, but I felt like it'd be too overwhelming and decided to pass it on to the next chapter. Besides, I couldn't just not end the chapter on this cheesy note, you know?

The Marisa and Futo dynamic continues to amaze me. On one hand, their contrasts make them not fit all that well, but somehow they can also be on the same page. I personally think it's because Marisa's mean-spirited attitude and Futo's pettiness complement each other, combined with the fact that both tend towards a bit of a mischief. It's a bit blurry though; they just somehow can work. Beyond her way of speaking, the most puzzling thing about writing Futo has to be the way she deals with youkai: Symposium of Post-Mysticism has Akyuu claim Futo acts violently towards youkai for no real reason, but Futo actually treats them just fine in the games. With this in mind, I've gotten to the conclusion that Futo is just more prone to picking fights with youkai and that she tends to doubt them more; she doesn't just attack on sight. I think. I hope. Please let me not be wrong about this...!

I'm pretty sure I've said it last time, but Alice is an easy character to write for me: she has a good range of emotions, so she's a rather dynamic character. Her lines just flow naturally from my mind to the keyboard; I don't have to think too hard about them. Meanwhile I'm just wishing Marisa were just as easy since she's basically our second main character now. Even so, I think I'm more and more coming to grasp Marisa's personality.

I had plans for Hotland. I really did. But like most of my plans, they got replaced by sheer improvisation based on the fact that the original isn't as good. I dunno, I just naively thought I could make Reimu go through Hotland with Alphys despite the fact that she would definitely figure out she's being tricked by sheer intuition. Even then, my improvisation started all the way from the end of her conversation with Sans: I didn't think she'd just beat up the guards like that; I didn't think she would go ahead and destroy the elevator; I didn't think she would find a barrier and the lasers there; at the very least, I was expecting the part with the Riverperson, but not the fact that they were gonna lead Reimu in the right direction. My way of writing stories is clearly dangerous, and yet... ^^'

Meiling was a very popular character, but I think it was mostly due to the awful fanon attached to her; that kinda sucks, in my opinion. I dunno, I just sorta like Meiling, so I knew I had to make her be somewhere if Marisa was going to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I had to read up on game dialogue and whatnot just to make sure I wasn't majorly screwing her up, but I think it was worth it, though she did only speak a few lines. While Marisa and Alice are pretty much in synch from knowing each other for so long, Futo isn't so she got ditched lol Meiling isn't very strong in canon, so Futo did end up beating her. Speaking of that, I think Futo has considerable strength because she was pretty far ahead into the days of Impossible Spellcard: yes, Impossible Spellcard does seem to be the basis for the strength of characters in Touhou for me ^^' Either way, I think she's sort of on a normal stage 5 boss level. That moment with Meiling was pretty fun to write in the sense that I could feel the awkwardness as I typed the words.

Chinese Tea is way overrated and Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17 is way better btw ***cough* *cough*** Dat feel when everyone just fights each other because we're in Touhou. Sucks that it's not important enough for me to write out for you, huh? There isn't much meaning plot-wise to it. Whatever the case, let's go back to the topic of how much I suck at planning things since as you've read, it goes way overboard when Reimu gets to Alphys: at first, everything seems to go alright. It'd make sense for Mettaton to show up earlier to cover Alphys. However, it all just fell apart in the quiz show. My very, very early plans actually involved Reimu getting really pissed off at Mettaton and attempting to damage him repeatedly to no avail, but yeah... That wouldn't be very intelligent. Oh, 'How the hell can Mettaton withstand Reimu's damage', you ask?

His metal body renders him invulnerable to shrine maidens, duh =P Surely Alphys had the time to improve those lasers and Mettaton before Reimu's arrival. She does pretend not to have expected her to arrive, but her freaking out was more or less real because taking in Reimu's anime glory is hard for her ^^' Either way, after scrapping my initial plans, I decided it'd be hilarious if Reimu made an actual quiz battle happen between her and Mettaton, where they'd be going back and forth with their own questions. Eventually, Reimu would get frustrated at how Mettaton was asking stuff she'd never be able to know and ask stuff about Gensokyo and Mettaton would have to guess correctly to save face and like, he'd rely on Alphys for it and it'd be amazing XD However, the quiz battle just... went a completely different direction. Just like that, really.

Thinking up all the questions seemed like a pain, after all. Besides, it'd be a bit boring until it'd actually get to the funny parts. Of course, Reimu would win against Mettaton because that's how it's supposed to work and then she'd believe Alphys and they'd go on a journey through Hotland solving puzzles, hahaha... In the same way we couldn't quite have a Toriel battle in her original place, the Alphys stuff couldn't go according to the game. Instead, she sort of loses...? But then she owns Mettaton with a Last Word spellcard drawn to confirm his invincibility. I told a reviewer I wouldn't be able to showcase the spellcard under any circumstances, but I guess I was wrong lol Besides, the impression I get is that while Fantasy Nature is that one OP spellcard Reimu performs while unconscious and that she can't really control, Fantasy Seal Blink Edition is that one OP spellcard that she can control.

Like ZUN said, the way Reimu sees the world is probably really different from how we see it, with all the border stuff she has to deal with. I mean, it isn't like we can't relate to Reimu, but... There's something about her. Something that gives her this sort of unreachable air. You never feel like you've truly grasped Reimu; in a way, it fits really well with her special ability. ZUN also says he's never done anything in her perspective and, the more I think about it, the more I would never dare to have any story I'd write with Reimu in first person either. There truly is something mysterious about Reimu that, until we get to know, we will never be able to see things completely her way, just perspective-wise; maybe we'll never get to know it in general. However, Reimu's personality isn't very hard to understand, to be honest. Her mind doesn't seem complicated. It's a bit easier to write her than Marisa, in my opinion, though Reimu has been giving me a slightly difficult time recently.

With that in mind, while Alphys looked up to this awesome image of her, I think she could also see she could never even reach the plane of existence Reimu seems to be in. This is mostly due to her overwhelming lack of self-esteem, but she could see that something in Reimu as she stared her over. And, since it's so bright and mysterious in comparison to Alphys, it scares her. She doesn't want to be seen for what she truly is (because she doesn't like herself), so the way Reimu probably could see through her put her in awe and fear. I just had to write the scene in such a manner because of this. Man, Alphys isn't very hard to understand either.

Now if only Mettaton had been easier to write, ugh! OMG Mettaton is so difficult to truly nail for me! I seriously will have to revise all of his lines, because I don't think I've really gotten how he speaks right. In terms of personality, Mettaton isn't hard to understand, after all: he's an ambitious guy who loves the spotlight. He probably owed Alphys one for having built his body and helped her out. Besides, they kinda are friends. Kinda. He distanced himself a bit from Alphys, but even then, I think he somewhat cares about her. In the game though, I'm pretty sure he got sick of having to cover for Alphys and just decided to do things his way. It seems like Mettaton's a cool guy who cares about things, but he's got a selfish side to him as well; I guess he's got his limits. Either way, seeing how profitable Reimu could be and knowing Alphys would be way depressed if her whole adventure thing fell apart like that, Mettaton got Reimu to do him a favor.

... And I've really gotta revise his lines, I don't think I matched the way Mettaton speaks properly; I'll have to do a whole bunch of research. Hahaha, even though Reimu doesn't wanna waste time, she ends up doing it throughout basically every chapter and the irony is amazing. This time around too, she has to waste time. But it's much more convenient that way: she gets to meet Papyrus early! I was planning on Alphys giving Reimu that super awesome upgraded cellphone so they could travel and whatnot but... you get the idea. It didn't quite work out that way ^^' From that, Reimu would've gone to Snowdin to tell him she's got a phone and that the time she'd have to spend with Papyrus is unnecessary. But now, I just have everyone's favorite plot device aka the dog to steal Papyrus's presentation so we wouldn't have to bear the boredom of tons and tons of exposition. Instead, he just gives her the cellphone like the amazingly kind skeleton he is.

Overall, I think it's better this way. Sucks that there wasn't all that much conversation between Reimu and Papyrus: I dunno, they're kind of incompatible ^^' It isn't all that easy to have them hold a proper conversation. As much as I love Reimu and Papyrus, I'm no Sanae: not even with days of preparation can I make miracles happen. Even so, it ended up pretty well. Who knows when the cellphone will come in handy? And seeing as I couldn't quite have a scene in MTT resort with Reimu talking to Sans, I had them go to Grillby's. From the beginning, I knew I'd be back at Grillby's, but I wasn't sure when exactly. I guess it had to be for this time. To be honest, writing the conversation was fascinating.

Sans is so onto me omg XD Stop knowing this isn't canon, Sans! Stop! I think this conversation at Grillby's really tells a lot about who Reimu and Sans are as people, especially the first part. To begin with, I didn't want a rehash of Sans's conversation with Frisk in the game, since it'd not only be boring but it would also not be very interesting or fit Reimu. So I had Sans point it out, and it was really interesting. He's used to say the same stuff, but now, he had to improvise because this is a very strange parallel universe where Reimu's the one in the Underground ^^' And it really shows from the awkwardness. The story about him and Toriel is basically the same as canon, but I had Reimu interrupt because she ain't no silent protagonist lol I love how Reimu really does forget all the people she's fought; Marisa remembers but Reimu doesn't.

Anyway, the Touhou scenes. I wrote so many characters, geez. Sakuya seems like she'd always be super assertive and knowing what to do, but she's kind of a ditz the more you look through the games. Well, not much of a ditz, but a bit of an air-head, you know? As if she's thinking about something you wouldn't quite understand. Even so, she's rather composed. I guess the perfection in Sakuya is how she can so elegantly get the job done. I think the absent-mindedness of Sakuya works to boost her elegance. Alice and Sakuya somehow like being mean to each other and that's amusing XD So, in the end, I thought it'd be a no-brainer to have Alice beat Sakuya. Meanwhile, Marisa's just watching on with Remilia and Patchouli.

Remilia is also a character I didn't have much difficulty writing. She's on the childish side, so she can be kinda blunt and likes things her way, holding herself in high regard. However, there's just something about the way she carries herself that makes her not be annoying or overly childish. She doesn't just freak out and start screaming and whining, you know? Since she likes considering herself really elegant and whatnot, she probably makes herself out to be that way on purpose; her ego's pretty big. Futo knew she'd end up starting shit so she left (if Marisa and Alice weren't there and weren't getting Sakuya, Futo would've probably just started shit without as much hesitation lol), but even then... XD Vampires are serious business, yo. Besides, Patchouli looks way ominous.

You know, Patchouli amuses me: she seems like the kind of person who could effortlessly deliver epic burns without even trying ^^' She isn't very sociable, obviously, so when she speaks, she doesn't speak a lot (unless necessary). However, the stuff she says is pretty straightforward and blunt or kind of ominous. Patchouli's a good person, she is, but she doesn't hold Marisa and Alice in high regard lol And meanwhile, I somehow included Flandre in here: she's also a popular character due to tons and tons of fanon making her out to be some deranged yandere/yangire with a split personality or something, when you just verify from her actual dialogue that she's just got a few screws loose and isn't used to talking with people. Precisely because she isn't used to seeing or talking to people, the way she sees and thinks about things are so different (especially due to her emotional instability) that it's hard for others to understand where she's coming from.

I mean, she apparently was on board with burning down the mansion with Futo XDD Not my fault Futo likes burning things though; it's totally a thing. Whatever the case, I decided to leave the rest of what happens with Marisa and the others for later and wrote a scene about Nue again, this time with Mamizou in too: did you know? Mamizou and Nue are such BFFs XD Besides, I really love writing them both, and the way they go about things is amazing; they really do fit each other. Nue's fun-loving personality gets me in a good mood, and basically everything about Mamizou is great to write. Just what is Mamizou doing? I dunno, but her way of speaking rules. I love writing her dialogue; her personality is so great. I can definitely understand why she has been taking such an active role in Touhou, seeing as she's that kind of individual; I am really glad she got to be an existing character of Touhou. At first, I didn't care much for her because I didn't really go deep into Touhou, but the more I saw her, the more I realized her awesomeness. Mamizou rules, man.

She rules. Whatever the case, look forward to the next chapter? I really gotta start screwing up sentences, I literally have no good deleted ones ^^'


	10. Chapter 10

**First Words:**

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 **peachlemonade - I find it great that you think the Touhou plot is thickening, because it's precisely what I want people to think ^^ If we're in Hotland, we've gotta have Mettaton and Alphys! Reimu got really pissed off at Mettaton while in the quiz show, but she's quick to forgive since she doesn't really hate others. When Reimu** _ **truly**_ **gets angry, in my view, is when something she considers very important is involved, like her shrine or the balance of Gensokyo; stuff like that. People's attitudes can annoy, offend or make her kinda angry, but it's not a furious sort of angry, you know? I think it's like that because Reimu treats people in a very equal way regardless of what they are. Anyway, I considered your suggestion, and while Mettaton is definitely vain (to be honest, my Author's Notes in the last chapter didn't do Mettaton's flaws much justice), and I really want to see if I can include situations where I better display such a trait, I can't say I'd tweak the way he speaks like that, though I will take it as a slight reference: this is because I feel like fanon goes overboard with how Mettaton speaks sometimes, and I don't want to fall into such a trap. Mettaton speaks in a very confident sort of vain manner with certain effeminate quirks that I feel fit a sort of vain TV celebrity more than anything. Still, I'll go check more of Undertale's script and try my best to replicate the nuances of Mettaton! Hahaha, I can't help the stalking, they all did that in the games ^^' Flowey stalks Frisk throughout, Alphys has cameras installed that you can see as early on as when you get out of the Ruins and Sans is constantly around. About that conversation, I really wanted it to have some sort of value that you wouldn't have been able to get from the conversation that happens in the game, so it had such elements not only because this sort of self-aware stuff is prevalent in Undertale, but also because I wanted it to be a scene where you'd really think about the characters that are Reimu and Sans. I was fascinated myself while writing it; I still think it's one of my favorite scenes in the whole story. Either way, I don't find any song from ZUN bad, so Chinese Tea is still nice to me, but it isn't good** _ **enough**_ **for Shanghai Alice to be overshadowed. Putting that aside, Mamizou and Nue are legitimately friends in canon: it's not just the Boss-midboss thing that connects them, they're legit friends even outside that. I also love them a lot, they're really great characters! Mamizou is definitely up there in my favorites. Anyway, the thing about Patchouli is that she barely leaves the mansion unless it's something she finds the need to personally take care of, and if we really think about it, Patchouli wouldn't be the best person to join a search party and directly look for Reimu through vast, vast areas since she's not as physically strong. Besides, Sakuya can stop time and such, and that really comes in handy. I mean, I love Patchouli, but she just doesn't seem like she'd be the party's number one choice. I haven't watched that PV you mentioned, but maybe I should check it out if not just out of curiosity. In any case, I said Patchouli could do sick burns without even trying, but I definitely don't think she just does that all the time or that that's a core thing in her personality; it was more of a joke than anything. I dunno, I felt the need to clarify it ^^' Anyway, thank you very much for reviewing, as always!**

 **b-wolf95 - I don't mind if you take time to review, really. If anything, I'm the one in the wrong for not being fast enough with my updates since guest reviewers can't have any certainty of when I'll finally upload a chapter (*currently depressed over this huge delay*) ;_; Yeah, it's really amazing how much you get to see things more similarly to the game in Snowdin, but then Waterfall arrives and Reimu's suddenly beating Undyne and then you get to Hotland and now she's doing some show for Mettaton willingly. The point with the story was for changes to happen because of Reimu, so I'm honestly really happy about this ^^ Mwahahaha, the more people aren't sure about the ending, the more satisfied I am! Yes, Reimu! Keep derailing the plot! ;D Anyway, I used to have a really minimal understanding of Touhou a few years ago, in the sense that I only knew a bit about the plot of the games and the general impressions of characters like Reimu and Marisa. I only started being this much of a Touhou fangirl really recently, so only around a few months ago did I start having a better understanding of all the characters. Basically, you and I are not so far apart! :D Back then, the character I had a better understanding of was uh, maybe Tenshi lol. It's really awesome that this story is making you have a better understanding of Touhou characters, I'm really flattered! Since I have to do research on characters, in a way, this story's making me have a better understanding of Touhou characters, too. Whatever the case, thank you very much for reviewing, as always!**

 **Guest - Yeah, am I glad for Reimu's easygoing attitude, especially since I don't particularly want to tread on stuff surrounding the Annoying Dog! Anyway, thank you for reviewing!**

 **James Birdsong - Thank you! Hopefully the next chapters will be just as good!**

Since the last chapter, this story got 21 favorites and 33 followers! I literally recounted these numbers, I was so shocked. I had this amazing delay and yet so many people are still reading this story...! ;_; Well, I technically don't have a schedule, so it isn't like I had a deadline, but I still would like to at least have one chapter come out per month, which hasn't been happening. I'm really sorry. Either way, we're getting close! I honestly predict that this story will have around 16 chapters, we're sooo close! The plan was for Hotland to be two chapters long, but Chapter 11 was getting too long, making it be divided in half; now Hotland's three chapters long (excluding Chapter 9, which is also a Hotland chapter; technically Hotland will be four chapters long). Otherwise, the story's predicted chapters would have totally been 15. I was admittedly insecure about these chapters, but that may just be because of menstruation-related anxiety; I dunno. Either that, or I'm taking a bit too many risks. I just really hope this story continues answering your expectations! Though, man... whenever I say I won't do something, I end up doing it, like... You should just not trust my words omg I'm so sorry XD In the end, I guess I'm unreliable when it comes to predicting what'll happen in the story and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Anyway, enjoy!

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 **Chapter 10: The Live Hotland Broadcast**

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As if she had done a moderate amount of physical exercise, Marisa stretches her arms upwards while walking out of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, her three party members next to her. In comparison to Marisa, Futo and Alice look immensely tired, while Sakuya seems to be walking by their side with a relatively normal posture. "Things sure got really hectic really fast," Marisa remarks, reminiscing the last half an hour she spent inside the mansion.

"I apologized already, didn't I?" Futo somberly looks down at her slightly burnt off sleeves, seeming no more regretful than a warrior who lost a war despite having technically won the fight. "I shall see to it no more trouble is caused by my presence."

Sakuya nods. "Do make sure of that, as you would have almost gotten incinerated by the young mistress. Not to mention the mistress herself," Sakuya calmly says, "And me. Consider yourself lucky this didn't happen."

"Though, it was rather surprising seeing the little sister out of nowhere," Alice comments, "I didn't think something like that would ever happen. Besides, she was fairly strong."

"I'd know, I had to deal with her before," Marisa adds before proudly smiling. "If I hadn't been around to give her directions, Futo would've been totally bust."

As if remembering something irritating, Sakuya frowns. "There are no retries, after all." She then sighs. "Cleaning the little sister's messes gives me no end of trouble..."

"How unjust," Futo remarks.

"Says the one who was completely fine cheating her way through the fight using Marisa," Alice blankly retorts as she recalls the event.

Though Futo at first flinches, she assumes a calm stance right afterwards. "'Twas guidance from my fellow party member." She crosses her arms and smirks, as if confident. "Such would only be natural, as a party is supposed to act as one."

"Then I do wonder what exactly made you leave the room when you arrived," Sakuya says while the whole party passes by Meiling, who doesn't even bother speaking to them in pure shame from her failure to protect the mansion from intruders. "That didn't make the party seem very unified, in my perspective."

... As if to avoid responding altogether, Futo exclaims, "Are not we forgetting our goal? We must search for additional members to make up our search party!" Her expression implies determination, but she is merely hiding the feeling of agitation overcoming her out of having run out of excuses. "Finding and rescuing Lady Reimu cannot be any less than our first priority!"

With a mischievous smirk, Marisa gives Futo a thumbs-up. "Nice save," she utters.

"No, it was rather obvious," Sakuya calmly counters with an uneasy smile.

"Completely obvious," Alice adds, "Not even the least bit subtle."

Marisa shakes her head, as if disappointed. However, she is still smiling. "Now, c'mon, let's not hurt her feelings."

Futo tilts her head to the side. "Pardon?" She is smiling cheerfully, but it's due to this that she seems dangerous at the moment. "It may have been mine imagination playing tricks on my mind, but it seemeth as though I heard multiple taunts from mine esteemed party members. Mayhap they wish to settle our differences through force?"

Dolls hover over Alice, and Sakuya's knives seemingly appear in each of her hands out of nowhere... "Is that a challenge I hear?" Sakuya asks, clearly more than prepared for a fight.

"It certainly seems so," Alice responds with a confident smile, staring straight at an equally confident-looking Futo.

With a calm smile, Futo nods as if sizing Sakuya and Alice up. "Hmm..." Futo's smile widens. "Though I could have you both duel me, 'twould be a waste seeing the prowess of Lady Alice be overshadowed by Lady Sakuya's masterful technique, I must admit."

Alice's hand twitches in irritation. "Are you implying I'm not as good as Sakuya?"

"Well, I can't say she is lying." Alice immediately shifts her attention to Sakuya, whose face indicated only elegance and confidence.

"Perhaps you just might be able to if you remember who beat you in the Scarlet Devil Mansion," Alice retorts.

"We can always see who stands as the strongest right now, just to make sure. We wouldn't want you to keep misunderstanding your own level of strength, now would we?" Sakuya and Alice lock eyes.

... As she watches this, Marisa decides to glance towards the currently forgotten origin of this argument.

Said origin is mischievously smirking in the background of Alice and Sakuya saying their final taunts. _Now that's just scary..._ Marisa mentally remarks before figuring that she has to do something before Alice and Sakuya start going all-out. As much as Marisa enjoys watching a good fight, she has already seen Alice and Sakuya dueling each other, so this would only be a waste of time in her perspective.

However, she doesn't really know how to go about stopping Futo's incited battle. Before deciding to simply tell them to stop, Marisa looks around and spots a figure flying in the sky. She points at it immediately. "Hey, isn't that Aya over there?"

... Alice, Sakuya and Futo curiously look towards where Marisa is pointing. "It sure looks like it," Alice responds.

"Indeed." Sakuya nods. "Perhaps we could have her join our search party? She may come in handy."

Seemingly pensive, Futo tilts her head to the side. "The Tengu reporter? I imagine she is busy as of now with all these incidents occurring over Gensokyo," Futo says. As good of an asset as she could make, Futo somehow doesn't see her being cooperative in that regard.

Marisa shrugs. "Well, Alice was busy too before we snatched her."

"So was I," Sakuya adds.

"Then what are we waitin' for?" With broom in hand, Marisa exclaims, "Let's go after her before she's totally out of sight!" As she takes off, she doesn't spare any moment to see whether the rest of the party is following, assuming they would.

They do, but at a slower pace than Marisa's fast speeds. They are hoping Marisa can catch up to Aya, as doing so is rather troublesome for them. "Why does that Tengu have to be so fast...?" Alice questions, irritated. She watches as Marisa is failing to approach Aya and cannot fly faster than she already is. If Marisa cannot, who can? Futo seems to be rather agile in her flight, and only lightly struggles to get to the same position as Marisa, but it's obvious she cannot reach Aya.

Alice is also out of the question. While she considers sending dolls Aya's way, hopeless as the attempt would be, she sees Sakuya disappear from sight. Alice smiles, knowing precisely where she would be.

To Marisa and Futo's surprise, they spot Sakuya directly next to Aya, tapping her shoulder. "Would you mind slowing down?" she asks Aya, who has already stopped flying, seemingly slightly surprised. "We'd like to speak to you."

"If it isn't the devil's maid! I admittedly was not expecting to be approached now, so it didn't occur to me flying at a normal pace. This flurry of news has been keeping me rather busy, you see," Aya explains with a smile on her face, as if not actually troubled at all. "You speak as if you have people with you, however." Aya looks around, a hand above her curious eyes.

She spots Marisa and Futo, followed by Alice. "My, oh my," Aya utters, "These are not people we see together every day."

"Hey there," Marisa greets. "You sure are fast."

"Naturally so," Aya confidently responds. "Now then, won't you tell me what business you have with me and why you are surrounded by this many people?"

"I'm gathering a search party," Marisa responds, "for Reimu."

Against Marisa's, and everyone else's expectations, Aya's smile only widens. "Ah," she utters, unfazed. "So she is missing after all? How sinister: it would no doubt make for a very interesting article once the truth of the whole affair is out."

"You don't seem very worried," Alice immediately remarks, wondering why that would be. In this incident, anyone is a suspect.

"That would be because I'm not," Aya says, looking as carefree about the matter as she claims to be. "After all, Reimu is the Hakurei shrine maiden. What would she be for if she simply disappeared out of nowhere? She is sure to be around somewhere. Otherwise..." Aya narrows her eyes, her calm smile unwavering. "Well, life goes on, as they say. I can hardly imagine someone such as Reimu ever truly falling so soon, so I wouldn't worry if I were you."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Marisa states, "Like you, I don't think Reimu would ever get done in any time soon. But since it's still plenty weird that she's nowhere to be found, I'm lookin' for her. So, you in or not?" Marisa's question almost implies that from the very beginning it was obvious that Aya is being invited, even though there was no direct prompt for this.

Naturally, Aya doesn't immediately give Marisa the answer she is looking for. "'In' your search party, you mean? So that was why you approached me in the first place?" The prospect of being in Marisa's search party amuses Aya, but not because she is eager to join. "As much of a thrill as that may be, I think I have had enough thrills for one day, so I'll pass on that offer. Just the mere fact that the shrine maiden is missing is enough of a scoop, after all; I'll only need to inquire the results of your search later."

"Alas, our offer hath not any means of refusal," Futo calmly says and watches Marisa nod at those words.

"None whatsoever, or so I've gotten to know," Sakuya adds with the exact same tone and demeanor as Futo.

"Absolutely none," Alice further adds as she shakes her head, a wry smile on her face. "So you should probably prepare yourself, Tengu."

Despite the fighting stances assumed by the whole search party, Aya is unfazed, though she raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Perhaps you didn't quite understand the fact that I am presently busy. It wouldn't do for me to waste time defeating you all, and I'm sure you would rather be able to walk than to try to beat me."

"... Now, is that a challenge I hear?" Sakuya asks, reminding herself of previous events.

"It certainly seems so," Alice responds in the exact same manner as before, both she and Sakuya with their respective weapons ready.

"With these members, I call it not a challenge, but mere warm-up," Futo remarks with a smirk on her face. "Let this youkai extermination begin!"

... Fan in hand, Aya utters, "Ayayaya... To think I would have to be faced with an obstacle of this sort..." Aya shrugs. "Well, I did recommend you otherwise. The responsibility for this is yours only!" Her fighting stance is merely a pleasantry, something for her opponents to remember her by before they no longer become able to see her form entirely when she begins attacking.

"It'll become yours too when we get you right in our search party," Marisa exclaims, "since there's no way you'll win against all of us!" After all, it seems as though Aya is ready to take on the four members of the search party. Even as Marisa implies this, Aya does not hesitate in the slightest, further confirming the fact.

Aya smirks. "We'll just have to see about that!" After such words, Aya's form disappears completely, and only a flash of colors seems to be moving towards the entirety of the search party.

This marks the beginning of another fight in the name of Reimu Hakurei...

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 **. . .**

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Reimu takes a deep breath. She gazes up at the red-tinted ceiling of Hotland, and smiles, though said smile is noticeably crooked; it's supposed to be a smirk. "I know you're there, Mettaton," Reimu states, "Show yourself!" With narrowed eyes, she draws out a spellcard. "Otherwise..."

She shifts her attention towards a monster off to the corner. They're shivering uncontrollably, knowing they have nowhere to run. They cannot fly like Reimu, much less visibly move forward as far as their tiny legs could provide. Reimu is sure to catch up, and they know that. They are at the brink of acknowledging that this is where their life will end.

 **Until...!** "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, DARLING!" Holding an open umbrella, Mettaton gracefully falls from above a tube coming out of the ceiling onto the ground Reimu is presently standing on, near Alphys's lab. "IT'S ME YOU WANT, ISN'T IT? IT ALWAYS IS. BUT WHO CAN BLAME YOU? WITH THE WAY YOU SO MISERABLY LOST TO ME, IT WOULD ONLY BE NATURAL. FORTUNATELY FOR YOU, NO ONE GOT TO SEE THAT LIVE."

"I'll make sure I win against you this time!" Reimu exclaims before pointing straight at one of the cameras. "Right in front your whole audience, to boot!" Attempting to maliciously chuckle, Reimu chokes on her own spit and ends up violently coughing.

 **. . .**

When she finally seems to be fine, she clears her throat. **"F-Fantasy Seal!"**

Orbs of multiple colors hover around Reimu, until they are spread forward relentlessly. A camera zooms in on the passerby monster, at their expression of the despair as they see one of those orbs about to collide with them... The camera then rapidly shifts its focus to Mettaton, who seems to have taken notice of this as he is rushing towards the monster. Without hassle, he extends his open umbrella in front of the monster, and it takes the full force of the orb without so much as twitching in place. The orb merely disperses at great speeds upon its impact, and every other orbs failed to hit the monster or Mettaton.

Reimu frowns, unable to produce something as hateful as a scowl without being actually furious. "Tch... You and your MTT-brand multi-use umbrella..." The advertising itself slightly sours the situation for Reimu, but definitely not enough for a hateful scowl. After all, even if the blatant advertising is somewhat displeasing, she can relate to Mettaton when it comes to having a necessity to do so. It isn't like Reimu would never advertise herself, either.

Mettaton swiftly closes the umbrella. "THE DROPS IT CAN GUARD YOU FROM ARE NOT JUST FROM THE RAIN! BUY IT, AND WILL SAVE YOU FROM A WORLD OF PAIN! _(TM)_ NOW ON SALE WITH A 10% DISCOUNT! IT'S A CHANCE YOU SIMPLY CAN'T MISS!" Just after Mettaton utters that, the sound of a ringing phone is heard, coming from him. He promptly picks up the call.

"M-Mettaton! A-a-are you okay?!" Alphys's voice is faintly heard through the speaker for Reimu, who is currently standing there, waiting for Mettaton.

"OF COURSE!" Mettaton confidently responds. "BUT THIS MONSTER WILL NEED TO BE MOVED TO SAFETY. SURELY YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DO THIS WITH YOUR SCIENTIFIC SKILLS, DOCTOR ALPHYS!" Reimu crosses her arms and taps her foot impatiently.

Unfortunately, complaining about having to just stand there and wait for Mettaton is not part of the script. "I c-can do that," Alphys says, "Just wait a second..."

 **. . .**

Slowly, something akin to a platform moves along the path just outside the lab...

 **. . .**

As Reimu yawns, the platform finally reaches the monster's side; even they find it hard to keep a somewhat traumatized expression. They nervously hop onto the platform, and it begins moving towards where it came from. "A-all done!" Alphys announces through the phone.

"WELL DONE, DOCTOR ALPHYS! YOU SAVED THAT MONSTER'S LIFE! THANKS TO YOU, I CAN NOW FOCUS ON THE RAMPAGING HUMAN!"

Finally, the focus is on Reimu and Mettaton again. Knowing that this is her cue, Reimu takes out five amulets and assumes a fighting stance. "Get ready to be exterminated, Mettaton! I won't go easy on you!" She throws the amulets, having them ready to miss their target. Mettaton's wheel is replaced with a rocket, and he begins hovering away from the area at full speed as Reimu has a considerable amount of ying-yang orbs fly in his direction; all of them pass right by Mettaton without even scratching his metallic body.

Hundreds of amulets are also spread out, but they fail to take Mettaton down at all. Reimu flies towards him in pursuit, but she makes sure not to be too fast since she is not supposed to catch up to him. "Just you wait!" Reimu taunts.

Reimu, Mettaton, and many, many amulets pass through platforms, lasers, and a tall doorway in the middle of a wide room with two other paths to choose from, though those lead to currently solved and disabled puzzle rooms. A few more platforms are what they see in front of them as they fly, along with a completely normal red path. Originally, this was going to be the set for a show made to accommodate the human and Alphys. However, since said human is Reimu, this was made impossible and as such, the set was removed while Reimu headed for Snowdin.

Instead of that show, Mettaton decided to make it one of the points in which he stops to 'truly' battle Reimu; the only thing included last-minute were two pink spotlights. He hovers above the straight, orange-tinted path as a screen appears in front of Reimu.

 **'*The epic rematch commences!'**

The spotlights shine over Mettaton, who almost appears to be glittering from the effect. Unable to comment on the ridiculous lights, Reimu draws a spellcard, but one she hasn't used in Gensokyo at all. **"Rematch Sign: Live Extermination Needles!"** Completely improvised needles fly towards Mettaton at great speeds while Reimu makes a few shine in different shades of red as if to make the needle pattern look appealing for anyone watching it. She makes a few ying-yang orbs out to be her finishing touch.

In truth, the shining needles are a way to warn Mettaton of the ones that would actually close in on him so that he can dodge them without effort. This is what he does, as Mettaton even makes sure to elegantly pose while moving away from every needle aimed at him. Seemingly displeased at Mettaton's prowess, Reimu frowns.

As part of his turn, Mettaton makes tiny versions of himself shoot many heart-shaped projectiles, which Reimu at first flawlessly dodges before realizing she is supposed to get hit. _It doesn't really_ hurt, _but it does take some energy out of me and that sucks..._ However, she obediently lets herself get hit by a single projectile, which takes 5 HP from her. She makes sure to flinch and grimace despite the fact that she was expecting to get hit, and glares at Mettaton. "Don't think you've won! **Misfortune Sign!"** She draws out another improvised spellcard. **"Consecutive Worst Luck Fortunes!"**

Many purple amulets home towards Mettaton, but their speed is unimpressive. When they get close enough to Mettaton, surrounding him, they disperse, taking random directions to fly towards. Many of said amulets end up flying in Mettaton's direction, but he manages to dodge them in style despite this, as the amulets that would do so were marked by their slightly darker shade of purple.

Reimu has probably never made spellcards this easy, she notes. Nothing about them is particularly tricky, as they only look intimidating due to the amount of projectiles thrown. If anyone of Gensokyo were to see Reimu's improvised spellcards, they would immediately know she is going easy on them; fortunately, the Underground is not Gensokyo. "ANY LAST WORDS BEFORE I TAKE YOUR SOUL, DARLING?"

Mettaton's turn has come, and he wastes no time literally throwing bombs her soul's way. Though they aren't particularly fast, Reimu tries to pretend she doesn't have the reaction time to move her soul away from the planted bombs and watches as another 5 HP is mercilessly taken from her.

As part of the script, Reimu glances to both her sides. "This isn't over yet, Mettaton!" she shouts, as if agitated, "Mark my words!" She then flies right past Mettaton at too great speeds for him to catch up, all on purpose. Since she is fleeing from the battle, the screen has this announced before disappearing entirely, as if it didn't exist in the first place.

"AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE HUMAN IS FLEEING FROM THE BATTLE!" Mettaton announces as he turns around, watching her fly in the horizon. "BUT THERE'S NO NEED TO WORRY! DOCTOR ALPHYS WILL LEAD US TO HER WITH HER SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS!"

These are the last words Reimu hears from Mettaton as she flies away from him. Now, she is curiously looking towards a building right in the middle of a vast lake of lava, wondering what it is for. _I bet it's really hot over there,_ Reimu thinks, imagining the temperature with a troubled frown. It's already hot enough on the path that she is following, so the idea of an even hotter part of Hotland is admittedly repulsive to Reimu.

Seeing what seems to be an elevator up ahead, Reimu decides to simply fly up instead of going through the trouble of taking it. Either way, she would reach her destination just fine, as there are no more barriers or strange lasers blocking her path unlike the last time she attempted to do so. Curiously, Reimu wonders if the lasers are still there... She could force her way above and ditch the show, but Reimu doesn't want to go back on her word, and it isn't like there are no benefits to this. After all, Mettaton will finally tell her how to cross the barrier, which will make her not have to go all the way to the king's castle just to know this piece of information. Besides, if he were not to keep his end of the bargain, Reimu could just punish him. It's with this reasoning that Reimu is participating in Mettaton's show voluntarily, as strange as said show happens to be in her perspective.

The show about the human continuously defeating Mettaton with the help of Alphys, through circumstances caused by Reimu, became the complete opposite as part of Mettaton's plan. Reimu is to be defeated by Mettaton throughout Hotland, being displayed as an evil, merciless human whose soul Mettaton tries to take at all costs. Naturally, Reimu's soul won't truly be taken, and the fights are nothing but fake, seeing as the end-goal to the show is merely to increase Mettaton's ratings and make him tell Reimu how to cross the barrier trapping her in the Underground all the while increasing Alphys's self-esteem in a similar manner to his original plan.

So far, everything is going rather smoothly, as the script is being followed at its core. Reimu's lines aren't an exact copy of what was written on paper, but they're the equivalent and don't harm the show in any way, shape or form. While Mettaton's ratings will increase, Reimu's reputation is sure to completely worsen, though that's something Reimu doesn't care about at all: as long as they aren't human villagers who can pay her and rely on her extermination services, Reimu can seem as evil as anyone wants her to seem.

Reimu hovers above the floor she has reached and effortlessly lands, slightly fatigued. Taking actual damage is admittedly a little energy-consuming, especially as her HP is literally halved. She rummages through her bag: she currently has three food items. However, she isn't sure as to what would heal her best. Supposedly, this food can restore HP, but Reimu has not heard of how much it can do so from Sans.

... She can see him selling a hot dog to a tiny monster in the distance, which immediately makes her decide to eat her Nice Cream so as to not have to bother asking Sans about this sort of information. That would make for a dull conversation, Reimu notes, and it would take up the time she has to move towards the next location she'll see Mettaton at; this would effectively ruin the show. As she takes out the Nice Cream, still in its wrapping, she spots a monster at the corner of this path, near the elevator. The monster is seemingly composed entirely of fire, and they seem content.

They have noticed Reimu's presence, but they do not question it. This monster most likely has no idea of the fact that she is human, Reimu notes. Soon, however, almost all monsters will be aware of Reimu's species, surely. _How many monsters watch that robot anyway?_ Reimu mentally questions as she almost rips the wrapping in half by accident. Slightly uneasy from that, Reimu quickly grabs hold of the stick seemingly serving as its handle and observes its peculiar shape and color. Light blue is its color, and it assumes an oval shape of sorts.

She briefly wonders if this truly is edible before shrugging and taking a bite out of the Nice Cream; Reimu flinches. Her teeth end up meeting the stick of the Nice Cream as she bit down on almost half of the whole food item, only to regret this action as her teeth begin to ache from the coldness of the Nice Cream. Immediately, she separates the Nice Cream's stick from her mouth, which still contained half of the actual sweet, though the very high temperature is slowly melting it down.

As the Nice Cream on the stick drips, Reimu finds herself relieved at the fact that she doesn't have to swallow the Nice Cream, as it's monster food and gets absorbed into her instead. _I guess I should have kept the fact that it's cold food in mind before eating it..._ Her teeth still ache, making her unmotivated to finish the Nice Cream. "It's dripping now, too..." Reimu mutters as she stares at the Nice Cream. Reluctantly, she bites off the next of the Nice Cream, unsure of how exactly to go about eating it. Since the temperature was melting it down, the Nice Cream is much softer so it's less of a hassle for Reimu.

However, slightly peeved, Reimu throws the stick away without hesitation and decides to move forward. She needs to get to her position in a certain amount of time, where she will be found by Mettaton. Now that she has restored her HP, or so she is able to assume now that she feels slightly better overall, she knows she must move on: it would be too unfair for Reimu to appear before Mettaton with most of her HP gone. When Reimu passes by Sans, she simply waves at him and glances at him waving back at her, unable to afford standing around and talking to him. Seeing as her path stretched itself forward in a seemingly endless manner, Reimu impatiently begins to float so as to not have to tire herself out walking.

Suddenly, she hears what appears to be her cellphone ringing. Reimu awkwardly takes it out of her bag and reminds herself of what to press so as to answer the call. "Hello?" She already knows it's from Papyrus as she awaits his response while flying forward.

 **"HUMAN!** YOU WERE GOING TO KILL A MONSTER?!" Papyrus immediately asks, clearly concerned.

"How is that surprising?" Since Reimu has defeated more youkai than she can count by hand, she finds Papyrus's question to be outright strange. "Besides, it was all acting. The monster was just there for the umbrella to look good."

"OH." Papyrus goes silent for a short moment before exclaiming, "WELL, YOU WERE BEING A VERY GOOD ACTRESS! IN ANY CASE, THAT MEANS YOU WEREN'T ACTUALLY LOSING TO METTATON, RIGHT?!"

"Of course," Reimu responds as she hovers above two escalators leading forward. "If anything, I was the one who won before this show, so this is completely fake."

"WOWIE, HUMAN! YOU'RE REALLY STRONG!" Papyrus remarks, as if proud in Reimu's stead. "YOU'VE ALREADY DEFEATED UNDYNE, METTATON... EVEN ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! WHICH BRINGS ME TO SOMETHING THAT I HAVE BEEN WONDERING ABOUT EVER SINCE I DECIDED TO RESEARCH HUMANS!"

"Make that quick since I don't think it'd be good for the show if I arrived while talking to you," Reimu warns, though she doesn't particularly mind answering whatever question Papyrus has in the midst of the boredom of simply flying to a faraway location.

"WELL THEN! I'VE GATHERED THAT HUMANS CAN BE MAGICIANS AND WIELD MAGIC, BUT IT'S ALSO SAID THAT THEY CANNOT MANIFEST THEIR MAGIC IN THE SAME WAY MONSTERS NATURALLY DO. HOWEVER, YOU DISPLAY MAGIC SIMILAR TO OURS. WHY WOULD THAT BE?" Papyrus sounds genuinely curious, but Reimu doesn't see anything interesting about the question.

"Anyone with enough spiritual power can make bullet patterns. I think you monsters are just confusing a type of youkai with humans who can manifest their spiritual energy." Magician youkai can also make patterns, but their magic differs in nature from what Reimu uses, which derives from her own spiritual energy and talent, and the power of the god of her shrine.

She figures the monsters of the Underground have this doubt when it comes to humans wielding magic because they can't tell the fundamental nature of different types of magic apart, though this should be unlikely for especially youkai. However, seeing as these particular youkai act differently from normal ones, she can't rule out such a hypothesis. "YOUKAI? I'VE NEVER HEARD OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT."

"It refers to you though," Reimu immediately retorts, "Anything supernatural is practically a youkai of its own."

"I SEE! SO 'YOUKAI' IS A HUMAN TERM FOR A SUPERNATURAL ENTITY!" Papyrus proudly concludes, as if he has made a great discovery.

"Something like that." She doesn't feel up to specifying about youkai, as instead, something else occurs to her. "By the way, do you know about Nice Cream?"

"OF COURSE! I'VE SPOTTED THE BUNNY PERSON SELLING THOSE MULTIPLE TIMES!" Papyrus excitedly responds, knowing that Reimu is in some way relying on his knowledge.

"Well, Sans got me one, and I ate it," Reimu casually explains, mostly bringing the topic up to kill time. "But I have a feeling I didn't eat it right. I'm not supposed to bite into it, am I?" She looks down at the strange platforms, seeing pressure plates on them; they must be a puzzle, she notes. Reimu finds herself glad for being able to fly, and takes her attention away from below neutrally.

"HMMM..." It seems as though Papyrus is giving this question deep thought. "PERSONALLY, I BELIEVE ANYONE IS FREE TO CHOOSE THE WAY THEY EAT THEIR NICE CREAM! HOWEVER! MOST MONSTERS TEND TO LICK IT, IF THAT'S ANY GOOD REFERENCE FOR YOU. AS FOR ME, I HAVE NO TONGUE, SO I EAT IT WHOLE LIKE YOU DID. WHICH MEANS THERE'S NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF! EVEN IF THE MAJORITY DOES NOT ADHERE TO YOUR EATING PREFERENCES, YOU SHOULD OPENLY ACCEPT YOUR NICE CREAM-BITING SELF! I KNOW I DO!"

"It's not about being ashamed," Reimu counters, "but whatever. Thanks, I guess." The topic itself is so irrelevant that Reimu regards thanking Papyrus for his help strangely. "Anywa—"

 **'*Tsunderplane gets in the way! Not on purpose or anything.'**

Reimu's eye widen in slight surprise from the screen right in front of her, as she happens to be floating right now. However, it does seem like a monster has been able to pick a fight with her even while in the air, as she sees in front of her a flying enemy. As far as Reimu can tell, it's a creature of sorts with two long, separate sections at each of its sides like the wings of a bird. Despite this, it's entirely mechanical, and it's wearing a mob cap as it hovers in place, looking straight at Reimu. "HUMAN?" Papyrus questions due to Reimu's silence, especially seeing as she interrupted her own sentence.

"Oh yeah, I didn't end the conversation yet," Reimu casually mutters. "Well, I found a monster that wants to be exterminated, so I'm going to give it a beating." She takes out five amulets with her vacant hand while saying, "Goodbye."

"H-HUMAN?!" Reimu thoughtfully stares at her cellphone, making sure to remember what to do to end a call with someone. "YOU CAN'T SIMPLY EXTERMINATE MONSTERS THAT APPROACH YOU!" _I think it was the red one..._ "WHAT IF IT MERELY WANTS A HUG—" With a wary finger, she presses down on the red phone symbol, and the call is ended.

When she finally looks straight forward, she sees her own soul on the screen and a projectile shaped like Tsunderplane in the process of falling right beside it. "I skipped my turn? You could have at least warned me," Reimu says before making sure to dodge the next plane projectile.

"H-hmph!" It moves slightly to the side, its inexplicable blush increasing. "You're the one who should be watching out for your turn, i-idiot..."

Reimu frowns from these words, clearly displeased. "What's that supposed to mean? If anything, you're the bigger idiot for having challenged me in the first place!" Reimu points at Tsunderplane accusingly, but notes that it seems strangely embarrassed.

"Challenge? I just wanted to c— I mean, i-it's not like I wanted your attention or anything!" Reimu gives Tsunderplane a blank look before relentlessly throwing her five amulets at it. The attack surprises Tsunderplane, and it flinches in contact with such violence. Even though dispensing the well-intentioned violence was its job rather than Reimu's...! Shock overcomes the tsundere plane.

"Well, you've got my attention," Reimu states while shrugging, "but not the good kind." The amulets give sufficient damage to Tsunderplane for it to be considerably weakened, as it struggles to stay on air; smokes comes out from it. Is perhaps Reimu unsusceptible to its advances? Can the tsundere not reach Reimu? These are perplexing questions of the utmost importance to Tsunderplane. "I'm in a hurry, so don't get in my way."

There isn't enough goodwill in Reimu to express sympathy towards its endeavors, but there is to at least keep it alive. This serves to confuse Tsunderplane. "You..." Tsunderplane can't bring itself to speak, and simply attacks Reimu's soul with bombs dropping from smaller planes flying horzontally. It's somewhat challenging to predict the trajectory of the bombs, but Reimu manages to dodge them regardless by giving them more focus than usual. "A-are you... H-hiding your embarrassment too?"

"Huh?" Reimu immediately utters in complete confusion, regarding Tsunderplane's words as a great leap in logic. "What are you even talking about?" Reimu spares Tsunderplane and then crosses her arms, wondering if Tsunderplane is making fun of her in some way.

"N-NOTHING!" Tsunderplane shouts with a somewhat strained voice, perhaps from the damage it took. "It was just your imagination, I didn't say anything!" The quick protests from Tsunderplane warrant a blank expression from Reimu, who finds herself without the patience or motivation to really care about the meaning behind Tsunderplane's behavior. "Y-you're such an sicko!"

"Hey, you're the one who's suddenly picking a fight!" Reimu counters, unable to remain unoffended at the insults even if Tsunderplane doesn't actually mean them. "Anyway, stop being selfish and assuming people can just stop what they're doing because of you. It's a pain to everyone." _And it's not like I've got all the free time in the world right now,_ Reimu thinks as she resumes flying forward, hoping the fight didn't greatly waste her time. If she were in Gensokyo and not busy, she could be slightly more lenient in this regard, but the circumstance simply warrants a larger worry over such matters for Reimu. She simply must return as fast as possible.

She sees a box-like device on top of a table from afar, but she isn't curious at all about it, being sick of technological boxes by this point. If anything, Reimu doesn't even consider looking at it more closely to be an option as she is in a hurry. The faster the show is done with, the better: Mettaton will have his favor done and Reimu will know how to cross the barrier. With such determination in mind, Reimu flies faster. Though she admittedly isn't as fast as people like Marisa, her speed is still decent for her work as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden. Besides, she doesn't rely on speed when it comes to youkai extermination.

Green grid-like structures keep orange-tinted rock separated from the path in place, as steam comes out of the tubes that are inserted in them. Though it's an intriguing sight, Reimu doesn't pay this any mind and continues flying along her path. In fact, she is considering what spellcards to invent next for the show, as the script demands a fight the next time she sees Mettaton.

... Surely enough, Mettaton is in the middle of the area ahead, hovering over the ground. "SO YOU'VE ARRIVED. I KNEW YOU WOULD BE HERE," Mettaton states, "THANKS TO DOCTOR ALPHYS! YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO RUN NOW!"

Reimu smiles. "Good to know you're that eager to get exterminated." Reimu herself edited the script for it to be more characteristic of her own taunts, something Mettaton allowed due to it making no difference in the end. Besides, anything has to be done to save Reimu's mediocre acting. "This time, I came prepared to crush you once and for all; I'm getting my second rematch! You'll be sorry you messed with me!"

"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT, DARLING... ONCE I TAKE YOUR SOUL!" At the precise moment Mettaton takes out a chainsaw, a screen appears in front of Reimu.

 **'*The epic re-rematch commences!'**

Immediately, Reimu draws out a spellcard. **"Fantasy Sign: God-Blessed Exorcising Seal!"** The name sounds grand, but it's also a rather easy spellcard in Gensokyo standards. Golden amulets circle Reimu as if rings around her, only for them to rapidly disperse towards Mettaton. They surround him, and are kept in place orbiting him until ying-yang orbs are thrown in the same direction. As if that is their cue, the golden amulets attempt to enclose Mettaton at fast speeds, but he flies upwards with his rocket, completely dodging the projectiles.

He ends up unscathed. Reimu attempts to scowl. "This isn't over yet..." she audibly mutters, unable to naturally make her fists tremble from pure fury.

"YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, DARLING!" he confidently exclaims, "AFTER ALL, I HAVEN'T WON THIS BATTLE JUST YET!" Mettaton literally throws the chainsaw at the screen, forcing Reimu's soul and even Reimu herself to dodge to the left side. The chainsaw cuts the screen in half, one of the halves falling to the floor and then twitching out of existence. The left side of the screen remains, though its right edge is completely torn. "YOU SAW THAT ONE COMING, DIDN'T YOU?" The joke has Reimu almost stare at Mettaton blankly, but she keeps a greatly displeased, almost resentful expression on her face regardless; she inwardly praises her amazing tolerance. "BUT THAT ISN'T ALL FOR THIS TURN!"

As if to finish the attack off, Mettaton sends miniature versions of himself to shoot heart-shaped projectiles at Reimu, which makes her take a deep breath so as to pretend to be making a huge amount of effort. She ends up dodging every single projectile, all according to plan. She is supposed to be inexplicably having an easier time now than before, as it's key to play up her strength and make her seem threatening. Though this doesn't make all that much sense to Reimu (since fights should start out easy and get progressively hard in her perspective), she didn't object to it when it was explained by Mettaton as she doesn't particularly care for inconsistency in Mettaton's show.

Reimu's turn arrives. "Ah," she utters absent-mindedly. _I completely forgot my lines,_ Reimu mentally notes. _I think I'm supposed to trap Mettaton or something, but what was I going to say anyway?_ She looks straight at Mettaton, who is waiting for her line. _Does it matter?_ "Uh, get ready! Not that you'll ever win against me if I'm serious!" Realizing she hasn't indicated that she was going to get serious in comparison to her last fights, Reimu awkwardly frowns. "W-which I will get right now."

Reimu draws a spellcard she actually uses in Gensokyo. **"Divine Arts: Omnidirectional Demon-Binding Circle!"** Reimu dashes towards Mettaton, but rather than hitting him directly with what seems to be an amulet she is holding, she presses it onto the ground. She is allowed enough time to stand up straight, but beyond that, the sudden ray of light constituting as the barrier she has put in place renders both Reimu and Mettaton unable to move. The cameras focus on Mettaton, who twitches in place from the attack. However, Reimu finds herself noting, with her intuition, that the attack didn't particularly affect him.

Even then, this is supposed to be the most dramatic part, as others wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It's one of the moments of adversity in Mettaton's show, with the purpose of making the audience wonder if Mettaton will truly be able to make it alive from the situation. As much as shows obviously keep their protagonists alive, this suspense is something that's strived for in MTT, especially if (PG) bloodshed is still lacking. While Reimu should be laughing maniacally, she simply smiles. "What are you going to do now, Mettaton?! You're trapped. Victory is mine!"

Reimu would have crossed her arms defiantly to further emphasize the extremely cocky moment she is supposed to be having if she could actually move. After all, Reimu surprisingly wants to make at least a decent performance with the show (whether she is succeeding or not is a different matter), as much as she doesn't particularly care for it; it's more for her own sake than the show's. "AREN'T YOU TRAPPED YOURSELF, DARLING?" Mettaton confidently asks, as if unfazed. He actually is unfazed, however, as his body is that resistant. "BESIDES..." Reimu huffs, though she was only supposed to do that after Mettaton's previous sentence. "UNLIKE YOU, I HAVE THE HELP OF THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS!"

Reimu gasps, finding it strange to will her eyes to widen in surprise. Two gun-like objects surge from the ground, both near Mettaton: they are pink in color, and glitter in contrast to the environment around them. 'MTT' is written on the side of each one (despite the weapons having supposedly come from Alphys), and a tiny flyer for an upcoming show is stuck to only one of them. "No way...! I have to take this spellcard down, now!" Reimu shouts, seemingly panicked as she frantically looks around before truly deactivating her spellcard.

"HOW ABOUT THAT? YOU'RE ALL ALONE, WHILE I HAVE ALL OF THE UNDERGROUND ON MY SIDE," Mettaton confidently states, "THERE'S NO HOPE FOR YOU, DARLING!" As the ray of light disperses and Reimu and Mettaton's movements return, the guns by Mettaton shoot lasers beams towards Reimu's soul.

She immediately dodges them without any struggle. "And why..." Reimu pauses to remember the cheesy villain line she is supposed to say. "Why do I even need anyone on my side?! People are all back-stabbing, vile creatures! I hate them all! And you monsters are no different!" she exclaims, "There's only hope for me because I'm not relying on anyone!" Reimu flies off at full speed. "Don't you forget that!"

... Reimu would have grimaced with a blank gaze for what she just said if not for the fact that she knows there are still cameras capturing her movement. _If I hate people, why am I taking it out on monsters anyway? Wouldn't it have been better to just exterminate people?_ Despite this, Reimu's mood remains neutral in general as she doesn't particularly care about how she is being portrayed in a show for youkai that will allow her to leave the Underground. It isn't like she will see the monsters again, and even if she does, she truly doesn't care about her reputation.

If anything, as the shrine maiden, she would want to be scary to monsters. As much as she feels like assuming a casual demeanor outwardly, Reimu is still being filmed as she flies to the next floor, so she keeps a displeased frown on her face. _It's kind of a pain that the cameras aren't focusing on Mettaton now... I mean, this thing is 'live' or something, right? So if I mess up, everyone's watching._ When she lands on the ground, she finds it isn't orange like the rest of Hotland. The floor she is stepping on is a dark purple, and it is nothing akin to the rock of the area.

She pants for a few seconds so as to pretend she is tired. Then, she looks onwards with a determined expression. "I'll find a way out of here..." she audibly mutters, "After I beat him, for sure..." Reimu takes a few steps forward while mumbling, her pace dramatically slower than before despite the fact that she is supposed to be fleeing in a hurry. No monster is in sight, and a sinister silence fills the area. What seems to be a food stand of sorts for Reimu is deserted, and she sees nothing in particular in the path ahead of her.

Until _**suddenly...!**_ "Ahuhuhuhu..." A spider web is shot in Reimu's direction, something she barely manages to dodge on purpose.

"Who's there?!" Reimu questions as if wary, assuming a fighting stance. She is looking towards where the spider web was shot from, but she sees nothing from there.

Then, Reimu jumps and turns around, leaving her unscathed from the next spider web shot at her. It came from the opposite direction of the other one, and without warning. Reimu takes out ten amulets and spreads them out in different directions as she throws them, wanting to see if she can make the monster attack her again and seemingly locate her position.

"How wasteful," a distinctly female voice remarks, "for a stingy human." Reimu can tell this voice belongs to the same monster that was chuckling at her, which she doesn't mind. It would've been much stranger if that weren't the case.

"Show yourself already!" Reimu shouts, though she isn't actually that impatient. She is getting rather used to acting, she proudly notes.

At the faintest sound of a chord of sorts being pushed, both Reimu and the cameras focus their attention upwards. Reimu takes a big step back, as what seems to be her opposition was precisely above her. "Ahuhuhuhu..."

With supposedly shocked wide eyes, Reimu sees a monster of indigo color lowering herself with the string of a spider web she had set up on the ceiling for this very moment. Two of her many arms are holding on to the string, one is dusting off her red clothes, another one is adjusting one of the two ribbons tying her hair, and her last two arms are grabbing hold of a teapot and tea cup respectively. Her five eyes are looking down at Reimu as she smiles amusedly at her.

At Reimu's purposeful silence, she asks, "What's wrong, dearie~? Isn't this..." Behind the spider-like monster, an unsettling, round creature swiftly, with its tiny, slender legs, climbs through the walls of Hotland, heading for the spider web the monster left on the ceiling. "What you wanted to see?"

The spider-like monster carefully places her two feet on the floor. Tiny spiders appear out of corners of the walls and the stand near Reimu, as if having hidden themselves all along. They flock towards the spider-like monster. "Ahuhuhuhu...!"

The tension builds up in the room as Reimu finally narrows her eyes in irritation, and frowns at the monster. She assumes a fighting stance, holding her Purification Rod up. Meanwhile, the spider-like monster doesn't seem as stiff or concerned about the upcoming events; amusement is evident in her expression. This sort of confidence makes the uneasy in the mood increase, for the outcome of this situation is uncertain.

What will come of this? Who will be victorious? These are the questions the show has made its audience want to ask by the scene fading to black and transitioning to something else entirely, as the scene takes the form of a dreaded cliffhanger.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

It was after bidding a polite farewell to the creature that guided her out of the depths of the mountain that Miko takes a moment to consider the utter lack of progress in learning the whereabouts of Reimu. Though a wry smile of sorts adorned her regal features, she softly sighs afterwards. There supposedly should be a connection between Reimu's disappearance and the mountain; it would be stranger otherwise. The fact that her exploration of it had wielded no results whatsoever, an unexpected outcome, makes even someone like Miko ever so slightly frustrated. The trip itself was not troublesome, and it even had Miko deeply consider many notions, but the reason for Reimu's disappearance remains unknown. If anything, it's shrouded in even more mystery now that she has checked the mountain already.

Before deciding to leave the area and perhaps find Marisa, Miko spots a familiar figure from the corner of her eye, gazing at the sky while sat on a sizable boulder. Her thoughtful gaze carries emotions akin to melancholy and determination, but even beyond her serious state of mind, Miko is more surprised to see that this figure is Kasen, a fellow hermit. It seems as though Kasen hasn't noticed Miko's presence yet, focused on her own thoughts. With that in mind, her mood brightened by this turn of events, Miko brings out her most dashing smile and makes her way towards Kasen.

"Well, well, well," Miko calmly utters as though she has caught someone red-handed, "Though I at first thought my eyes were deceiving me, it does seem the esteemed hermit of the mountain is before me, in this newly-moved mountain." As she sees Kasen look towards Miko in surprise, only now noticing her, Miko bows.

At Miko's elegant, overly polite mannerisms, Kasen finds herself smiling awkwardly, unsure if to take this meeting as a positive or negative one. "Hello there," she greets with none of the melancholy or determination previously in her expression. "I didn't think I'd see you here of all places." Such words are stated with pure honesty, as Kasen truly did not expect to see Miko active at this time.

"I could say the same for you," Miko retorted, as her speech becomes more assertive. "However, seeing as you're here, I assume your reasons mirror mine." Miko is smiling calmly, as if absolutely confident in her hypothesis.

Seeing that, Kasen narrows her eyes as she considers her own motivation and Reimu's whereabouts, no longer smiling. "You investigated the mountain?" she asks. Her slightly darker expression contrasts greatly with Miko's considerably brighter one as she slowly nods in response.

"I've just concluded my investigation, in fact," Miko says, "It was a shame we did not meet in the process. Had I known you were here, I would have seen to it we had tea along with the king of these mysterious creatures." The recollection of the event leaves Miko with a more earnest smile, as she reminded herself of conversing with the king of the population of the mountain.

"In the end, he invited you for tea, too, huh..." Kasen wistfully remarks. Her meeting with the mountain's population did make her think about many notions, such as the nature of youkai, especially in contrast to the creatures she has found within the mountain. Her time there was a strange experience to Kasen, and she had felt somewhat uncomfortable and wary at the time.

"Without a single hint of malice," Miko knowingly adds. At the time, Miko had found the turn of events unexpected: the mood of the area was light and hopeful, along with its king, who had gazed upon a visitor such as Miko as if unsurprised at her arrival. Apparently, a few others had already visited the mountain, including, something she now has known, Kasen as well.

The mountain was supposed to exude some sort of serious air to it, for all the turmoil it caused and is currently causing in Gensokyo. However, everything about it is remarkably innocent instead; it was unlike anything Kasen and Miko had expected. "All the other monsters were more or less like that; they really surprised me. Their attitude would bring shame to the rest of the youkai from how different it is."

Miko chuckles, recalling being surprised at the population's overall attitude as well. "I can imagine that," she amusedly says, only to then assume a calmer stance and expression as she considers more serious topics. "I've explored more than the mountain's castle as well. It seems impossible to directly tie Reimu's disappearance with the population of the mountain, so I have been left with no leads. I can only assume the same for you, since you investigated the same location."

Kasen nods solemnly. "I was convinced they had taken Reimu for some reason, and I was going to find out why. But there are no signs of Reimu there, and they wouldn't have known of Reimu's existence to begin with. No one in Gensokyo could have known about the mountain's appearance either, so it goes without question that there is no relation between Reimu's whereabouts and the mountain." She then sighs. "Unfortunately, that's the worst-case scenario for us. Where else are we supposed to find any leads on Reimu...?"

"Where else, indeed..." Miko pensively mutters, finding a need to carefully consider her options. The only certified information Miko has on Reimu's disappearance is that somehow, the mountain is completely uninvolved: there is no further trace of Reimu, no proof of where she might be. "Perhaps the wisest course of action was Marisa's all along." Miko had sent Futo precisely because having a search party was a good idea, but she figured that getting to the root of Reimu's whereabouts would ultimately aid the party's efforts and narrow down Reimu's location. Unfortunately, now without leads or a location to get them, it appears Miko's efforts were unnecessary.

With that in mind, the notion of a search party is more productive. However, Miko's words leave Kasen surprised, as she mentioned Marisa. "Marisa? What has she been doing for Reimu?" Kasen immediately asks, slightly worried.

"She has been gathering a search party to look for her," Miko calmly responds. Then, she smiles, as if amused. "Are you interested in joining her efforts?" She finds the prospect of Kasen doing such a thing interesting, admittedly enough.

Kasen herself is giving the question deep thought. She is also aware of the standstill she is at when it comes to leads on Reimu's location or the reasons behind her disappearance. However, she does not feel it appropriate to simply join Marisa's party: so she can bear the responsibility she burdened herself with, Kasen finds it better to let her be. "I wouldn't join her party, but I think I'll search for Reimu over at the Youkai Mountain so it'll be one location less for her. It's unlikely, but since there are no leads on Reimu, she could be virtually anywhere so it can't be a waste of time. What about you?"

At the show of interest in her own whereabouts, Miko smirks. "Me?" Kasen simply intends to know, just in case, what Miko happens to be planning, but Miko's reaction leaves her wondering whether that truly was a good idea. "For the time being, I suppose I will find Marisa. I'm admittedly curious about how her search party is progressing, you see." The mental image of Futo barely fitting in with said party is also amusing, so Miko figures she has nothing to lose. Besides, she does need to confirm to Marisa that the mountain truly has nothing to do with Reimu's disappearance; that was sure to lift a few of her worries. She knows that Marisa already assumes the mountain is unrelated to Reimu's disappearance, but the certainty is sure to be convenient either way.

"Then, I guess this is goodbye now," Kasen states, "I'll get going." Now that she is sure of what to go about doing, she feels no need to stay on the mountain. With that in mind, Kasen waves at Miko with a friendly smile.

Miko waves in return. "Farewell," Miko says as she watches Kasen fly away without hesitation. She has decided to see Marisa, but she is already considering future plans, such as either checking on the state of the human villagers (she assumes they must be at terrifying unease from the mountain's appearance and the suddenly moving tools from what she knows to be the previous incident), something she would usually leave Futo with, or checking on the Hakurei Shrine, which must be now empty. Feeling as though it will be wiser to ask Marisa about the shrine before acting, she drops the matter for the time being and starts putting other topics into consideration as she finally flies off in search for Marisa.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

Feeling that I've been putting a bit too many Touhou scenes and that has to chill for a bit, I planned on having only a single Touhou scene... but then I realized this was my shortest chapter so I wrote another Touhou scene at the end because I might as well and logically, any later than this and it wouldn't make much sense; now it's not the shortest of my chapters. I guess Touhou scenes really pad this story lol. Either way, I really wanted that cliffhanger, so didn't feel like putting a Touhou scene at the end, but I figured that even if I did, it wouldn't ruin the cliffhanger ending because the next scene is in a completely different context. I've been kinda afraid of having too much Touhou in the story in comparison to Undertale, to be honest. After all, the focus of this story is what Reimu does throughout it.

Marisa isn't even supposed to be a main character XD Speaking of that, the party's getting pretty big! Making so many people have to speak is intriguing, especially if it's Marisa, Alice, Sakuya and Futo. It's cool the feeling of each character having their own place in the interaction, especially if it's just banter. There isn't as much banter in the manga as there is in the games since the characters need to taunt each other in the games, but I like to think this is in the middle of an incident, and since it's in the middle of an incident, it's technically in the middle of a 'game', which makes it likely that the characters are in a fighting mood. I do like how Futo did have to fight Flandre and was almost going to lose if not for Marisa telling her what to do.

She effectively wasted precious time, hahaha. And then Futo tries to have Alice and Sakuya turn on each other so they stop dissing her omg. Futo is rather devious, or at least, it seems so. Even then, you could totally see she was struggling with Alice, Sakuya and Marisa's teasing. I kinda wanna find a chance to show Futo's more air-headed and quirky side, but I'm not really finding it and it upsets me a bit. Meanwhile, Alice is still really easy to write and Sakuya's only slightly harder. I have a feeling I made Marisa a bit too easygoing, since she's actually not as easygoing as Reimu. Despite that, she is pretty casual about things. Well, I'll worry about that when it matters, since I think I did well enough in this scene with Marisa.

What I most want to talk about is Aya. Aya showed up in Chapter 1, but I didn't really show off Aya's personality from the little scene she had. It was in here that she shone the most, and I really liked writing her. Aya is actually really old (I think about a thousand or so years old?), wise and powerful, though her demeanor is chipper. In a way, you'd be chipper if you were very confident in yourself: her personality most likely derives from her pride, as she knows she is strong so she has nothing to fear. Besides, Tengu are overall characterized as strong and her appearances hint no different at this for her as well. Whatever the case, I had these things in mind when writing her, and there's definitely a feeling of pride and confidence that backs her overall calm stance towards what Marisa tells her. It's as if she is sure she knows better than Marisa, which she just might.

I really wanted her reaction to be marking, in a way. She shouldn't have known Reimu's missing, as Marisa didn't have an idea of this when she talked to her before. However, she acts as if she had deducted that from the very beginning and isn't worried at all, finding the concern of everyone else amusing. To be honest, when it comes to the more powerful youkai of Gensokyo, there has to be a certain air of mystery to them: in the same way you're not supposed to know what Yukari, for example, is thinking, I don't think you're supposed to know what exactly goes on in Aya's mind either. So her response was made to reflect this. I also have to admit Forbidden Scrollery really made me think about the characterization of Aya, so it might have influenced this scene ^^'

Either way, Aya is busy, but the search party doesn't take a 'no' for an answer. You'd think Aya is being bold by attempting to take down the four of them at once, but as I said, she's pretty strong (of course, Marisa, Alice, Sakuya and Futo are also strong but you get the idea). It's said that anyone who's in her way gets mercilessly blown away in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, so I have a feeling the search party has their work cut out for them. Just who will win? The odds are kind of against Aya, but yeah, she's still pretty strong, so... This is basically an incident, seeing as everybody is fighting each other. And just after that, you get the show thrown at you!

Reimu, Mettaton and Alphys talked over the script, but I felt like it'd have more impact to just put you into the show already going on since you'd be piecing together the fact that it's all acting while reading. To me, this seemed like a more fun experience than you already expecting the thing to happen. Though Reimu rekt Mettaton, the setting of the show's story is that Reimu got her ass kicked by him and wants a rematch, while also wanting to leave the Underground. Meanwhile, Mettaton wants her soul because she's a human and it's this strange situation where he's chasing Reimu as much as she is chasing him. However, her priorities will ultimately lie on moving forward, so whenever she loses to Mettaton miserably, Reimu will just run away because she's a cheesy villain lol.

Mettaton is making use of Alphys, who has a more supporting role in the story. In general, Mettaton's plan involved a show that would benefit everyone, so Alphys shows up because he wants to increase her confidence by having her succeed at her role. In a way, Mettaton is kind of awesome for what he's doing, and many monsters are profiting from him. Reimu's characterization in the show is that she's a cynical human full of hatred, who wants nothing more than to exterminate monsters and even humans alike for some reason... Reimu doesn't really care about having to act, but we all have to admit she probably isn't the best of actresses. She never had to really act, after all. Well, Mettaton and Reimu are just having a bunch of very brief, cool fights lol.

Reimu tried to make pretty-looking patterns with her new spellcards, since the whole thing's for show. I didn't plan to invent spellcards at all (especially because I fear they wouldn't be stuff she'd use at all), but I had a feeling that I had to since the real deal would be too much for the situation. I think these are spellcards Reimu would use if she were going _really_ easy on someone, to be honest: definitely not ones she'd seriously use to defeat youkai. Reimu's supposed to be losing miserably anyway, except on that second battle, where she's supposed to momentarily invert the tables with a spellcard she actually uses. I never really had to experience the spellcard itself since I don't tend to use the characters' spellcards when playing the fighting games (weird, huh?), but according to the Grimoire of Marisa, it paralyzes movement to both Mettaton and Reimu, which is its greatest weakness.

Well, more than the mock battles, I'm pretty proud of the first part where Reimu and Mettaton were advertising umbrellas XD Reimu eating the Nice Cream actually turned out really unexpectedly for me: I did not at all imagine it to be that difficult to write omg. My corrupted mind just kept spotting innuendos everywhere, and it was a bit hard to describe, so in the end, Reimu's experience wasn't the best. I kinda feel bad for the guest reviewer that made fanart of a Reimu that would like Nice Cream because, while she didn't mind the flavor, I don't think she'd be obsessed after this, hahaha... I didn't want her to waste time talking to Sans because there isn't much to talk about at this point in the story when it comes to Sans.

That conversation at Grillby's was just enough, really. Besides, it seems like the exploration of Hotland will go really fast while in this MTT show. My plan was for the show to include all of the Underground and be this huge thing, but I realized slowly walking through places wouldn't fit a show at all, especially if Mettaton wants his ratings up. So, unfortunately, Hotland won't be that explored for story-related reasons either. However, since I at least wanted things to be fun, I had Papyrus call Reimu! I mean, since I had Reimu get a cellphone from him, I figured it would be a waste if it went unused, so Papyrus gave her a call about the show since it's live and Papyrus is a Mettaton fan and watches his shows.

Papyrus kinda admires Reimu and can't leave her alone at the same time: he sees her as clueless on certain things, but really cool on others so it's a strange relationship in his point-of-view. Meanwhile, Reimu doesn't see him any differently from anybody and just shifts the topic away from weird Undertale inconsistencies to eating Nice Cream XD I found that really amusing, and it was one of the few times I felt like Reimu and Papyrus actually worked together well. Unfortunately, the conversation got interrupted by Tsunderplane, since I couldn't go through Hotland without featuring a monster fight. Besides, I thought it was cool to display one of the few flying enemies in the game.

Papyrus's call couldn't go on for very long anyway, so it's not like the fight made you miss out on anything. I'm not sure if this chapter was a bit too fast paced, but I sure hope not: I think I'd like an opinion on that. Since a while ago, or basically when I realized I was going this route with the story, I knew I was going to give this part two chapters (it's actually gonna be three now, but before, that's what I thought), and wanted it to stop on Muffet. And hey, you stopped on Muffet! Since I wanted it to be like a show, I absolutely wanted there to be a cliffhanger precisely when Muffet made an appearance. I wanted Reimu to reach her floor, and then encounter her and make it this fake-epic thing and end it there. It was necessary to me.

I was initially planning on ending the whole chapter there as this super cliffhanger, but I ultimately felt as if that weren't particularly satisfying and instead decided to put the very much preemptively planned Miko and Kasen scene here. You see, it wouldn't make much sense for Kasen to take so long to investigate the mountain, so as much as I wanted to have the scene be for later (as in, almost at the very end of the story, like, New Home and stuff), I couldn't. Originally, the scene was going to be between Seiga and Kasen, but then I had Miko investigate the mountain too and found it much more logical to have the two talk to each other rather than Seiga, whose whereabouts you don't really know (beyond the fact that she eavesdropped on Marisa at the Myoren Temple). Which made me have Miko do her investigation in two chapters and find Kasen deliberating on things.

Man, have I already told you how much I love Miko? She's so confident (overly so, though) and elegant and smart...! It's absolutely great just how much of a bishie Miko is XD Hopeless Masquerade seems to show Miko isn't very comfortable with things not going her way, so I thought it would be good to point out that she was frustrated from her lack of results, since they were part of her plans. Her charisma and pragmatic attitude make her kinda look like some bad guy (and omg Miko practically doing an evil laugh in the fighting games XD), but she's done a fair amount of good things in the Touhou series, so I don't think one can describe her as one.

Chapter 18 of Wild and Horned Hermit is honestly my favorite chapter because it says a lot about religion and because it really shows you Miko's character: she literally shines, for lack of a better description XD (Miko = Touhou's ultimate bishie) Even beyond that, since Kasen's supposedly a hermit, Miko treats her way differently from other people: as a fellow hermit of great skill, Miko holds some form of respect for Kasen; basically, Miko's also fond of Kasen (not romantically, so don't even think about it). This made Miko be immediately curious about Kasen's presence, so she headed over to her to talk; the prospect brightened her mood considerably (because, well, she probably doesn't see Kasen that often so she doesn't want the chance to talk to an esteemed hermit like Kasen and perhaps get to know things from her to be ruined, or so goes my interpretation of it).

Something that really asserted Miko's awesomeness to me in Wild and Horned Hermit was how she asks Kasen why she became a hermit, Kasen gives her a reason that completely opposes Miko's, and while Miko at first is very surprised, she then just takes it with an earnest, calm smile. She just takes it without saying a word, without asking why, without arguing against it; she _respectfully_ takes it. Miko is overly confident, but she isn't blinded by her pride because she is a wise individual: I think she has enough wisdom to know that even she still has a lot to learn from, so she is receptive to other people's opinions if they are new to her (Miko isn't receptive to Byakuren's Buddhism because it already has been debunked to her). In that particular scene, I believe Miko found it in her to respect Kasen's ideals, and thought that perhaps, she still had much to learn in comparison. She gave it thought, you know? She didn't just brush it off. She processed those words. Though she made quite a few assumptions of her own about Kasen and the conversation before that was mostly Miko explaining to Kasen that she's taking advantage of the villager's position for them to turn to her religion (not that Reimu and Byakuren weren't doing it either though), I thought that the scene really conveyed how great she is while at the same time, saying a lot about Kasen.

Kasen is basically a serious character in the Touhou series. She isn't a stick in the mud like Youmu, so she isn't very awkward, she's just... a rather normal character with visibly serious aspects to her. She's polite and friendly, albeit a little mysterious, but she tends to scold people and nag them about what she thinks is right (so she's self-righteous); she has a tendency to lie herself out of situations too. Due to this, her reactions to a few things are surprisingly normal. However, at the same time, you can tell that her perspective isn't exactly human, and that she's as nice as she's ruthless: as I said before, there's this sort of coldness about Kasen that gives you the chills, and she doesn't seem to care for certain things in the same way people would and vice versa. In the Touhou series, the characters tend to be multi-faceted like this (with qualities and flaws alike), but in different degrees and with different traits and backgrounds; it's honestly a reason why they're great.

Putting that aside, my point with that paragraph was that Kasen, despite being inhuman in some aspects, tends to have reactions of awkwardness akin to humans and that's pretty interesting. For example, Kasen found Miko's greeting awkward and got surprised at seeing her around. Basically, Kasen, while mysterious, isn't entirely unrelatable like certain youkai of the Touhou series, whose motivations you can barely discern. Admittedly, Kasen was a bit harder to write when talking to Miko, but I really liked writing both of these characters. Though I didn't say it while specifically talking about her, Miko is a rather serious character, but in the sense that she thinks about serious things with a certain tact, which Kasen also seems to do. Kasen doesn't seem to dislike Miko or anything, as far as I can discern from Kasen asking Miko for cinnabar in Urban Legend in Limbo's victory quotes; she seems to regard her pretty alright. It was pretty sad how Kasen called Futo a hermit of a lower level in her victory quotes though omg ;_;

Whatever the case, hopefully you aren't unsatisfied with this chapter. I mean, I'm not, but I still get pretty nervous ;_; I like Muffet though, she's a cute lil' character. So, what will become of Reimu and Muffet? I'm actually looking forward to writing that part, so at least I'm excited!


	11. Chapter 11

**First Words:**

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 **b-wolf95 - To be honest, so many inconsistencies are just casually thrown around within the Touhou parts that I'm actually surprised people are only finding it confusing now; I wrote that thinking people were already aware. Feel free to come up with theories behind this ^^ Actually, Hotland has a total of four chapters, seeing as it starts from Chapter 9; Hotland takes up Chapters 9-12. If it still doesn't seem like a lot, Chapter 12 has around 22000 words (and this one has around 15000) so don't worry; it's a lot (of blood, sweat and tears ;_;). Hmmm... Depending on what exactly would one consider to be the final battle, I'd say that the probable thing to happen is it lasting a single very long chapter dedicated to it; either that, or I'd divide it in two. I'd say it depends on the word count. Hopefully this clears stuff up and thank you for reviewing, as always!**

 **James Birdsong - And thank you again! Nice knowing people are still sticking around despite the time I took getting this chapter out ^^' I'm equally glad that you thought it was a nice chapter! Hopefully this one, and the next ones will answer expectations!**

Did I ever tell you how much I love guest reviews? Reviews in general? Uh, wanna talk about how many favorites and followers the story got since the last chapter? It got 9 favorites 16 followers, by the way, which is pretty awesome and stuff. Surely it's something anybody would love more than talking about my huge delay, hahaha... I blame Mettaton for this. The plan was to upload on November 8th since that's this fic's one year anniversary, but I failed the deadline in my timezone. Hey, at least it's still November 8th in the US and people from the US read this! So yeah, this upload time has nothing to do with the elections ^^'

Mini-Eight-Trigam Reactor = Mini-Hakkero; I got it translated for consistency's sake.

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 **Chapter 11: The Hopeful Hotland Broadcast**

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"... And, cut," the spider monster mutters as she watches Reimu sighing. "Ahuhuhu..." Reimu and the monster both know that the cameras are no longer recording their movements, and that the live footage from this moment on is going to focus on Mettaton and Alphys's attempt to catch up to Reimu. Naturally, they will fail to find her so that her fight with the monster comes to a proper close, but that is something to think about after the break, Reimu notes. Seeing as the spider monster is walking towards her, Reimu shifts her attention to her with a neutral gaze. "So you're the human playing the villain for Mettaton's show," she amusedly remarks, "You really do look the part, dearie~. But, your acting needs some work."

Reimu crosses her arms, admittedly offended at the spider monster's words. "It's believable enough, so don't complain!" she protests despite being aware of her own acting skills. "It's not like anyone can really believe a show as lame as this one, anyway. Everyone just wants to be entertained; it's as fake as it gets." To begin with, any sensible human looking to escape the Underground would destroy the cameras pursuing them, though Reimu has also been portrayed as someone who wishes to have a rematch with Mettaton: the fact that she has been running away so often under the overwhelming strength of Alphys and Mettaton is only one out of the many signs of how complex and deep the show isn't supposed to be.

Using one of her many tiny hands to cover her mouth, she giggles at Reimu's seemingly bold statements. "True~," she responds as she looks over Reimu's remarkably easygoing stance. Reimu was offended at the monster's remarks before, but it seems as though she forgave her very quickly in the middle of describing what she feels Mettaton's show to be like. Her demeanor is fairly interesting in the monster's eyes, considering her position. "Though, for a human trapped in the Underground, you're in a very lucky position right now. Normally, monsters should be trying to get your soul, not watching you beat me~."

"Not all monsters here knew what a human looked like, as far as I could tell," Reimu says, reminding herself of the times she traversed Snowdin without any fear or wariness from its residents. While some monsters had an idea of what a human looked like, such as Papyrus or Undyne, many other monsters bothered Reimu for entirely different reasons, unaware of Reimu's identity; few monsters actually had Reimu's soul in mind when fighting. However, figuring there is a point to the spider monster's words, Reimu quickly dismisses that train of thought. "Besides, what about you? If you're part of this, you probably don't care that much about getting my soul."

"Of course. Rather than breaking the barrier, I'm much more worried about getting the spiders in the Ruins to cross Snowdin's deadly cold~." The spider monster's voice evidences a tinge of an exaggerated dramatic tone, though her statement and concern seem genuine. Even despite that, her expression does not show signs of imminent worry more than a mere hint of seriousness behind her smile. "The barrier can come later."

Reimu processes the spider monster's words, unable to remember whether the Ruins truly have spiders or not. Even then, that isn't the most doubtful part for Reimu. "Then, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping out the spiders or whatever?" At least, it would only make sense to be by the Ruins instead of a strange, purple place in Hotland playing the part of a fodder for the villain that Reimu happens to be within the story.

"Good question, dearie~." The slightly more energetic tone in the monster's voice suggests that Reimu said something she wanted to hear, surprisingly enough. _Why is she calling me 'dearie', though?_ "You see, we spiders have been trying to gather enough funds to do just that, and Mettaton, well~... He gave me A LOT of money to be on this show. It's apparently a really big deal to him." She then giggles as a tiny spider starts walking towards her, holding what seems to be a sweet of sorts, though Reimu hasn't seen one like it in her life. Its shape is round, but it has a hole in its middle, making it more akin to a ring than anything. "Speaking of that, would you like a donut~? All proceeds go to real spiders."

Reimu skeptically stares while the spider monster takes the donut from the tiny spider and watches it go. "You're selling that to me?" She frowns, clearly displeased at the prospect of buying something. "I don't have any money." Unfortunately, as much as Sans advised her to get food, Reimu spent all of her money on her bag; the rest of the food she received was offered by Sans.

Though slightly suspicious of Reimu's answer, the spider monster is also greatly curious from it: how has the human fared in the Underground? Humans are supposed to be strong, but a completely different environment should put anyone in unease or fear. However, Reimu does not seem to be feeling any of these things; at least, not anymore as far as the monster can tell. "Not even a single coin?" she asks, wondering how one can even survive without money. She giggles. "No wonder you accepted this job~. You must have been desperate~."

As a human, it made sense in the monster's mind. However, Reimu takes offense to the statement. "Hey! If I'm desperate, then what about you? You're not even a main character!" Reimu then indignantly huffs. "I have my reasons for participating in this, but they aren't money. I don't think I could buy anything from my home with your currency anyway, so it's practically worthless to me." Reimu crosses her arms and looks towards the side with a thoughtful frown. "Is it even real gold? Then wait, it might just not be worthless...?"

The spider monster finds herself giggling once more at Reimu's antics, which she finds amusing. "There's gold in the Underground, dearie~. Otherwise, why would the currency be 'G'?" The fact that the monster seems confident with such words, as if she knows of the subject better than anyone, made Reimu immediately focus on her. "You know, if you wanted money, you could've just taken it from the monsters you beat up. I mean, you did beat up monsters along the way, right? I've had spiders tell me about it~." Reimu blinks twice, perplexed.

... Then, she realizes that she had fought Tsunderplane without collecting money from it. She brings a fist to the air in pure frustration. "Damn it!" Reimu suddenly shouts, leaving the monster to snicker at the sight with one of her tiny hands covering her mouth. "It's all Papyrus's fault! He distracted me!" At an unbelievable speed, Reimu's hand reaches out for the bag and grabs hold of her cellphone.

"Are you going to call him?" the spider monster asks, admittedly curious at such an action. "Make sure you don't take too long, dearie~."

Reimu dismissively waves her hand as she neutrally frowns. "Sure, sure," she absent-mindedly utters as she focuses completely on the tiny screen of her phone. "Now let's see, uh... Contacts, contacts..." Reimu is squinting as she lightly touches the icon she faintly remembers from Papyrus's explanation to be where the contacts are. Much like the names of the monsters she's fought so far, Reimu hasn't retained the complete extent of all that Papyrus told her about cellphones.

"Ahuhuhu~..." The spider monster would have offered her help, if Reimu happened to have any money. However, seeing as she doesn't, the monster decides it's much more hilarious observing the human clumsily fumbling with the cellphone as if it were super advanced technology. Thankfully, Reimu is too concentrated on the cellphone to notice the spider monster practically laughing at her expense, so she has not warranted Reimu's anger yet.

Finally, it seems as though Reimu succeeded in calling Papyrus, since she now has a proud smile on her face as holds the cellphone to her ear, waiting for a prompt greeting from the skeleton. "HELLO, HUMAN!" Papyrus's voice is so loud even the spider monster can hear it from afar; she notes that he seems way too excited for a simple call. "I KNOW IT'S YOU BECAUSE YOUR NAME SHOWS UP ON THE PHONE WHEN YOU CALL ME! CONVENIENT, RIGHT?"

"I know that much," Reimu retorts with a frown, feeling underestimated. "Your name showed up when you called me." She knows that he meant well and assumed that she didn't know or had forgotten, but she couldn't avoid feeling as though she had been considered inferior from it. Wanting to move from that due to this, Reimu says, "Well, anyway, you owe me G."

"WHAT?!" Papyrus immediately questions in shock. "I DO?" His voice takes up a tone of pure confusion, as though he cannot fathom Reimu's words. "THIS IS THE FIRST I'VE HEARD OF IT, HUMAN!" The fact that he so seriously considered her statement surprises Reimu somewhat since she thought he would promptly deny it or express anger towards her.

"Well, I beat you, didn't I? Besides, you totally got in my way when I beat up that flying monster." Reimu then smirks. "I've been learning a whole lot about Underground customs lately, and I'm pretty sure one of them was that the loser gives out money." The spider monster could easily see her letting out a malice-filled chuckle, though Reimu herself refrains from such an action.

... Papyrus is silent for a good few seconds. "HUMAN! I, UH." He awkwardly pauses. "I AM VERY PROUD OF YOU! I SEE YOU'VE TRULY BEEN LEARNING WHILE ON YOUR JOURNEY! PERHAPS YOU WILL EVENTUALLY REACH A STEP CLOSER TO MY LEVEL OF GREATNESS AT THIS RATE! JUST AS I EXPECTED FROM YOU!" Papyrus's voice was loud, seemingly positive, and yet ever so slightly higher-pitched than usual.

Reimu's intuition quickly deducts it to be Papyrus attempting to hide the fact that he is nervous over the topic she brought up. "Don't avoid the subject with your weird speeches," Reimu demands, "Just come over to Hotland and give me the money. I'm expecting a really good amount of G from the boss character that you are." Reimu is already tapping her foot impatiently as she removes the cellphone from her ear, intending to break up the call with Papyrus preemptively.

"BOSS CHARACTER?! NO OFFENSE, HUMAN, BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM CLEARLY THE PROTAGONIS—"

Realizing she wasn't very specific with her request and reminding herself that she is in the middle of Mettaton's show, Reimu cuts off Papyrus, saying, "Just drop it over at the lab or something, got it? Make it at least 100 G!" She shouts over the phone, wondering if her distance from it makes her harder to hear. Then, she clumsily disconnects her call with Papyrus by pressing onto the phone with too much force. At the very least, Reimu manages to make sure it doesn't fall from her hands, so she casually puts it back in her bag.

The spider monster can't help but amusedly giggle at the scene she has witnessed. "You could've asked for more, you know~? A hundred G is not nearly enough to afford my pastries." Reimu shifts her attention to the monster with a confused expression, as if almost all information from the monster has been completely forgotten while talking to Papyrus.

However, it all occurs to her shortly afterwards. "As if I'd use it to buy pastries," Reimu retorted, "Especially if they're that expensive." _I'm gonna strike it rich in Gensokyo instead! Gold is gold, after all. I shouldn't have let Sans cloud my judgment when I talked to him._ Reimu's frown deepens, as if mulling over something unacceptable. "Wouldn't he also owe me money...?"

"Trust me, deary," the spider monster says, "My pastries are baked with the noblest of causes in mind, so they're worth millions~." She giggles. "If you get that money, you should definitely go buy them." The monster sips from the tea she has in one of her many hands and, almost as if to compensate for that, pours more tea into the cup from the teapot on another of her hands.

Reimu absent-mindedly stares at that action before thoughtfully stating, "No way. I could go for some tea right about now, though." She recalls her own shrine, and herself drinking tea within it. Then, the fact that Shinmyoumaru has been taking up temporary residence there occurs to her for once in the entire adventure and frowns. As she looks back at the last time she saw Shinmyoumaru, she wondered if she isn't doing anything to the shrine while Reimu is gone; more importantly, Reimu worryingly wonders about her safety afterwards.

"Oh, this tea isn't for sale~," the monster replies, choosing to ignore Reimu's suddenly serious expression. She assumes that Reimu is in deep thought about something, but it doesn't seem to be anything that concerns her or her business. "But I would've considered it if you had any money."

Suddenly, Reimu's phone starts ringing. Reimu hadn't processed the monster's words at all, as she was busy wondering about the state of Shinmyoumaru and her shrine, but the somewhat obnoxious sound of the phone served to make her focus on her surroundings once more. With a troubled expression, she grabbed her phone out of her bag and tried to quickly answer the phone while squinting. She puts the phone over her ears and impatiently asks, "What is it?"

"HUMAN, YOU REALLY MUST STOP HANGING UP WHILE I'M TALKING!" Reimu has irritated Papyrus, she notes in an easygoing manner. "TO BEGIN WITH, YOU'RE FORGETTING THAT YOU CAN ONLY TAKE MONEY FROM BEATEN MONSTERS THAT HAVE IT! AND, UNFORTUNATELY FOR YOU, I WAS COMPLETELY BROKE AT THE TIME!" The fact that he had no hesitation in admitting it means that money isn't even something Papyrus has any pride in possessing, which momentarily perplexes Reimu.

However, she doesn't really care about other people's perspectives, so she is instead focusing on how Papyrus apparently has no money. "Don't lie to me," Reimu immediately counters, "How could you have no money around here? Do you youkai just fight each other whenever you need it or something?" Somehow, Reimu is regarding that with slight jealously, though Papyrus does not notice it.

"OF COURSE NOT!" Papyrus exclaims as though the very prospect is preposterous. Seeing as the monsters have so far only approached Reimu for the strangest of reasons, perhaps it does happen to be a preposterous notion. Either way, Reimu doesn't see any worth in dwelling on that. "IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT THOSE MATTERS ARE LEFT TO SANS! AS SUCH, I AM ONLY GIVEN MONEY FROM TIME TO TIME! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE MUCH MORE PRESSING ISSUES TO DEAL WITH IN MY DAILY LIFE, SUCH AS DEVISING PUZZLES AND SEEING TO IT I BECOME PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"

"If Sans was the one with money all along, you should've just told me!" Reimu recalls having almost fought Sans, only for him to escape easily; the mental image started to frustrate her. Even then, at the time, she wouldn't have known to take his money, but it was still upsetting that she had let the chance to majorly earn some form of gold to perhaps sell slip away from her so easily. Reimu huffs in frustration. "Whatever. Basically, I've got no business with you so I'm hanging up."

"GOOD TO SEE YOU'VE EVEN WARNED ME, HUMAN! SEE YOU ON TV!" Papyrus excitedly says without regard for his previous (understandably) irritated demeanor, in the same way Reimu threw aside her idea because she started to feel it would lead her to more trouble than she'd want to bother with when she simply wants to leave the Underground. The fact that she is participating in this show is already troublesome to begin with, so she wouldn't like to be faced with other matters, seeing as she is determined to return to her homeland.

Papyrus spared Reimu the trouble of hanging up by doing it himself, so Reimu merely stuffs the phone inside her bag and looks towards the spider monster. "So, I guess we should start making this place looking all ruined because of our fight?" Reimu nonchalantly asks, having perceivably forgot all about money. The spider monster is admittedly disappointed at the notion, but amused at the same time; Reimu is a strange person, she notes.

Before speaking, the spider monster giggles. "Our set is already ready for us, dearie. We just have to go there," she responded, wondering how much knowledge Reimu truly had about the show she has been inserted into. Reimu has a semblance of an idea of the script, but other details were instantly forgotten the moment she read past them, so she is merely acting upon assumptions of how to go about doing any sort of show. In her mind, it seems to be a play, but broadcast. "Follow me."

Reimu does not say anything and merely walks behind the spider monster with a pensive expression on her face, as if still processing what she had been told. She knows, from what she remembers of the script, that she is to eventually arrive at the MTT Resort, a location she had heard about from the ghost she interrogated. Then, she is to reach the Core, whatever the place happens to be, and the show would end in an 'epic climax'. She is unsure as to how anyone would derive enjoyment from Mettaton's show, but perhaps the monsters in the Underground are simply that bored with their own lives. As she thought about it, living underground surely is not pleasant and has little to offer. However, seeing as many aspects of the Underground mimicked the surface in an almost too accurate manner, it doesn't seem to a severe problem.

The name of the spider monster was on the script, but Reimu found herself easily forgetting about something so trivial. The monster seems to only be here to demonstrate that Reimu, the villain, is, in fact, a force to be reckoned with despite having lost against Mettaton multiple times; a side character, Reimu noted at the time. Her role, to Reimu, was easily shrugged off until she finally met the spider monster and now, she has to scramble for what exactly she is supposed to say according to the script she was already scarcely following.

To Reimu's confusion, the floor she sees stretched out before her is broken into many squares scattered about, all with at least one strange platform displaying an arrow. Noticing Reimu's curious expression, the spider monsters giggles before saying, "Don't worry~. The puzzles here are all deactivated so you only have to cross." Without hesitation, the monster steps towards the platform right in front of her towards one of the squares in a graceful, effortless hop.

Reimu curiously stares at the monster as she hops forward through the bizarre maze of squares and only starts flying in her direction after processing the troublesome nature of a path such as this one. Just imagining herself having to do what the spider monster is doing just to leave her shrine, for example, immediately upsets Reimu so she reaches the other side of the squares with a displeased frown. "Don't you youkai get sick of this path at all? It's not like you can fly."

"We get used to it," is Muffet's simple answer, conveyed with a slight hint of amusement. "But now that you mention it, I didn't know humans could fly~." The spider monster had spotted Reimu flying towards this floor while the cameras were still on her, but she had decided against commenting on it at the time. However, now that there is nothing in her way, she is more than curious at the fact that somehow, humans can magically fly.

Reimu crosses her arms. "Not every human can fly," Reimu neutrally states as she looks forward, towards the path she and the spider monster supposedly need to follow to get to the 'set'. To Reimu, actually asking about insignificant things like how the show works is an endeavor too troublesome for her, so her mind is instead focused on the monster's words. "But youkai should, since they all have the spiritual power for it. Somehow, you all can't." She shrugs, not particularly worrying about this fact. These monsters are not part of Gensokyo, which means that their circumstances are mostly out of her jurisdiction. It was definitely strange that the youkai of this area could not fly, and it made her slightly curious, but there was nothing more to it.

"I think you're misunderstanding something important, dearie~," the spider monster points out, still amused at Reimu's perspective on things. If all humans on the surface are like Reimu, humans surely are quirky creatures. "Monsters aren't any of those 'youkai' things, so we just don't work like they probably do. I wonder where you get your ideas from~." The spider monster softly giggles as she starts walking, knowing Reimu will follow suit as they cannot be late to the set.

Reimu does follow her, but with an irritated expression on her face. The fact that she is walking along with the spider monster is not what she is currently focusing on, and her pace is strangely fast, albeit not quite enough to completely surpass the monster. She is instead considering something that she has experienced for a while in the Underground: none of the youkai here consider themselves youkai. They either ignore the term, or point out their unfamiliarity with it and it confuses Reimu: how would one not know their own identity? "I'm a shrine maiden, so I know these things!" she confidently claims, "Any supernatural being is a youkai, and you're no different."

"If you say so~," the spider monster responds, as though she isn't up for an argument over the topic. To her, what Reimu perceives as the reality of her species is of no actual importance, so conflict is needless. If anything, her insistent ignorance is amusing, so the monster giggles while Reimu's frown deepens; she figures the monster isn't convinced. However, seeing as attempting to enlighten a monster on her actual species is not in any way part of her duties or responsibilities, Reimu merely shrugs the issue off as she gazes upon the building in sight.

The path is still of a darker color than the usual Hotland orange, instead resembling the spider monster's color scheme. The building, too, is no different in color from the path Reimu is traversing; she finds herself glancing at the spider monster. "Is this your turf or something?" she asks, though her expression indicates she isn't that interested in the topic.

"The whole floor isn't technically mine but it matches my parlor beautifully, doesn't it?" The monster herself appears to be in an essentially carefree demeanor as she stares at her parlor and sips from her tea. Reimu can understand the feeling, but only partly, since it isn't pleasant being reminded of the scarce lack of visitors to her supposedly youkai-ridden (or so others say; Reimu vehemently denies this) shrine at times. Even then, as she looks at the spider monster's parlor, Reimu finds herself curious about its appearance.

She gives the spider monster an uneasy smile. "It looks kind of run-down though," Reimu bluntly remarks, feeling sorry for the partially destroyed state of the monster's parlor. As someone who has had her shrine and home destroyed before, Reimu is well aware of the genuine sadness.

The monster's response, however, is a thoroughly amused giggle. "It's supposed to~," she explains, "It's our scene's set, after all." Soon enough, Reimu and the spider monster find themselves face to face with the purple parlor in its purposefully destroyed state. The monster points at its door, which is currently opened as though to invite Reimu, with one of her free hands. "Go on~. I'm sure there are people waiting for us."

"People?" Reimu immediately questions, confused at the statement. From what she remembers of the script, she isn't supposed to meet anyone as she defeats the monster. However, Reimu does see silhouettes of different monsters from afar. One of them even waves at her, though they don't seem particularly eager to see Reimu (rather, they appear uneasy). She awkwardly stares at them, wondering why she hadn't been told this by Mettaton.

Noticing Reimu's confusion completely, the spider monster covers her mouth with the hand she used to urge Reimu inside. "Ahuhuhuhu~!" Reimu frowns, feeling as though she is being made fun of. However, before she could say anything, the spider monster enters her parlor without hesitation. "Well, don't worry, deary~," she says, "I'll give you the details." Despite her words, she narrows her eyes at the monsters lying in wait, clearly focused on them. "But first..." While initially, Reimu wonders why she'd be like that, she then sees the creature that was crawling near Muffet before her break had started: it had swiftly been out of sight through the break, but it is now slowly descending from the parlor's ceiling, its mouth dangerously agape. "I'll go see if any of them is up for some spider pastries! It's lunchtime for my pet, so I'm sure I'll see some delightful results~."

Even though the spider monster appears excited, she still doesn't dash towards the monsters and instead walks at a clearly faster pace as a few spiders, all holding a single box of what Reimu assumes to be pastries, make their way towards her and her potential customers. Feeling left behind, and not particularly sympathetic for those monsters, Reimu runs towards the monster as she exclaims, "Hey, you better hurry up with that and tell me everything, you hear me?!"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

The new mountain in Gensokyo stood proudly on its new, illusionary soil, for all to see. It left humans and youkai alike with fear and anxiety, or even pure curiosity. However, the actual amount of youkai and humans that have visited the mountain are few and far in between: only those of considerable power, among them hermits, a few youkai, a small group of Tengu and the gods of the Moriya shrine have truly seen what lurks in the mountain. Now, the kappa from the Youkai Mountain have figured it best to scope out the new population themselves, as they have read fascinating information from Tengu newspapers. Apparently, the mountain abounds with technology.

A small group of kappa was sent to visit the mountain, one which includes a certain Nitori Kawashiro. Mountain climbing is a tough job even for youkai, especially for kappa far from perceivable water; as such, they are currently flying over the mountain. Of the group, only a few are truly bothering to search for the entrance to the rumored civilization, while the others are vaguely gazing at the sky, seemingly carefree. Either way, there is supposedly nothing to fear with the new youkai population, so, as long as the entrance to their hideout is found, they can inquire about their technology to their liking. The prospect has the group internally eager, but flying over a mountain continues being a more or less tedious endeavor for these kappa.

Nitori sighs frustratingly. "Man, just where is the entrance to the underground area? And even though there's this whole mountain surface to occupy, these monsters go underground of all places," she complains as she looks down and spots nothing more than the occasional tree and steep land. "It doesn't make sense at all, right?" Nitori hears three grunts of approval, which makes up the entire reconnaissance group. "According to the Tengu newspapers, these youkai aren't scary, and they don't even feel like youkai. I wonder how that works?" Nitori shrugs and, in the midst of her boredom, looks towards the sky instead.

Her eyes widen in surprise at the sight she takes in, and she stops her flight. "Woah woah, what's going on over there?" She points towards it as her kappa companions stop and stare in that direction; they all assume a facial expression similar to Nitori's.

"It's moving, I think?" a kappa suggests in a clearly uneasy manner.

"I dunno about you, but it just looks like trouble to me," another remarks with a troubled frown.

"But still, something big's gotta be happening. Doesn't it get you curious?" At the third kappa's question, the other two find themselves humming in deep thought, while Nitori curiously stares at figures she finds familiar, far into the sky.

"Either way, it's none of our business. We're supposed to check the mountain, remember?" The second kappa crosses her arms impatiently. She is much more interested in what lies within the mountain than anything else right now, especially after having heard the rumors. It's with that reason that she has been the one looking down at the mountain's ground in search of the exit for the greatest amount of time, especially eager to have her hands on the existent technology.

Nitori smiles. "Yeah, I guess the mountain's first. It's not like it'd be a good idea putting ourselves in the middle of that anyway." Though she is also greatly curious about the youkai technology, she is most of all not feeling up to seeing the familiar figures she is spotting in the sky, knowing it would do her no good. "Let's just go." She turns around, preparing to move, but notices the others in the group aren't doing the same. "Hey, did you listen to anything I said?"

"W-whatever, I'm curious! I'm gonna check it out!" the third kappa immediately says as she quickly takes off towards the disturbing sight Nitori had spotted, effectively leaving her group behind.

"Hey!" the second kappa shouts, "Get back here, we're supposed to be going for the mountain!" Despite that, the third kappa does not even look back, seemingly more focused on her own interests than her group's.

The first kappa fidgets in place for a few seconds, only to fly in the third kappa's direction at a fast speed, surprising Nitori and the second kappa. "I'm sorry!" she exclaims as she moves, and those words only faintly reach the remaining two kappa who are incredulously looking towards the first.

"What the heck?!" The second kappa is the first to voice her anger at the turn of events, only to huff indignantly and turn to Nitori. Unlike the second kappa, Nitori seems more troubled than angry as she continues staring out to the sky. "Well, fine, it's not like we needed them anyway. I'm fine just checking out the youkai's technology."

Nitori shifts her attention to the second kappa and shrugs. "They'll probably come back when they get bored," she states before pointing to the mountain and smiling cheerfully. "And when they do, they'll regret not getting their hands on those youkai's gadgets like we did. We'll rake in more cash than they could ever imagine and they won't get a single yen!"

The second youkai snickers, and both exchange devious smiles before resuming their search for a way underground.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

While Marisa is currently frowning, her eyes focused on making sure to dodge any projectile coming from Aya at her amazing speeds, she faintly sees Aya smirking as she flies right past her and towards Futo, who, unlike Alice who has her dolls and Sakuya who has her own abilities, is mostly without any defenses towards any attack from Aya. "Look out!" Marisa shouts as she sees Futo's eyes widening in shock at the Tengu's speed. Out of all the opponents, the one least familiar with Aya is Futo, and Aya herself is aware of this: currently, Futo happens to be the weakest link, especially as Aya is a formidable foe when opposed.

Knowing she has no time to dodge, Futo assumes a defensive position and braces herself for the direct hit. She winces at the strong kick, but at least finds solace in having only her arm taking its brunt rather than her stomach. Using the momentum of her own kick, Aya propels herself backwards and conjures a strong gust of wind with her fan, which serves as another means to fly back, farther and farther from the opponent she has just attacked. As expected, Futo immediately flies to the side and avoids the small tornado with relative ease before exclaiming, **"Blaze Sign!"** As she speaks, balls of flame surround her. **"Blazing Winds of Haibutsu!"** Hurt, in pride and on her arm, Futo has unleashed a spellcard, which brings her a step closer towards her defeat according to the rules. However, seeing as Aya's opponents are more than Futo, there is still no perceivable end to this fight.

Aya sighs, though with a small smile on her face. Meanwhile, Marisa glances towards Sakuya, who decisively nods and then confidently smiles. Right away, knives appear close to the flames Futo has conjured and they fly through them at fast speeds. The heat isn't enough to make the knives melt, but they are still hot and unpleasant to touch, which is the intention. However, with a wave of her fan, Aya creates a gust of wind strong enough to stop the knives' course and put out a few of Futo's projectiles. "Ayayaya, how dangerous..." she lightly remarks while swiftly moving out of the flames' way and readying her fan. **"Wind Sign: Opening Wind of the Tengu Realm!"** A cyclone of a much stronger caliber, occupying a size sufficient to hit Marisa, Alice and Futo, is almost effortlessly created with a slightly stronger swing of her fan, and it flies towards them with considerable speed.

"Oh no you don't! **Love Sign: Master Spark!"** The needlessly wide beam of light coming from Marisa's prized possession, the Mini-Eight-Trigram Reactor, pierces through the cyclone, but does no damage to Aya in return. Scowling at the frustrating tie this battle currently has, Marisa shouts, "Alice!" She glances towards her while shooting the many stars that are part of her spellcard, which Aya almost effortlessly moves away from.

"I was going to do it even without you telling me, Marisa!" Immediately after the protest, a few dolls are made to surround Aya; Alice smiles. **"War Sign,"** she utters, **"Little Legion!"** Condescendingly enough, Aya merely glances at the dolls closest to her and doesn't run from her future predicament, even as the dolls begin moving and rotating towards her. The blades the dolls hold spin with them, and they appear as saws ready to cut through Aya's resilient youkai body.

Not intimidated in the slightest, Aya flies upwards so as to avoid the dolls, only to suddenly find Sakuya in her path. **"Illusion Existence,"** Sakuya mutters, **"Clock Corpse."** The diagonal rows of knives are placed precisely below her, in Aya's direction. Their sudden appearance leaves Aya with the necessity to swiftly improvise, as she cannot go back down and take the dolls' slash attacks.

She decides to simply dodge the knives above her, as their pattern isn't too difficult to decipher. At her success, Aya charges towards Sakuya to see if she can land a direct hit on her, but she is gone before she can notice it as a result of her power. Instead, Aya can see Futo reaching a position above her with a proud smirk on her face. "Prepare thyself, Tengu Reporter!" Aya curiously looks at her, wondering what it is she is planning. However, she looks down at the dolls and notices that they are slowly flying upwards, towards her. With a single glance at Marisa, Aya notes that she is more than prepared for something. **"Blaze Sign,"** Futo declares, **"Taiyi True Fire!"** Futo vertically spins three times as though to show off before she dispenses a flame of considerable size with a swing of both of her arms downwards. The fire flies towards Aya, but Aya immediately moves to the side.

However, the fire scatters to both right and left in grand gushes, which momentarily surprises Aya. The moving dolls reach the flames just in time and force Aya to fly backwards at the quickest speed she can muster while taking in the various explosions in the area. Alice would have smirked, if the gunpowder-filled dolls had managed to take Aya down. Seeing as this isn't the case, Alice grimaces as she mentally curses Aya's agility. Then, she looks towards Marisa, who nods at her in return. Aya curiously stares at this exchange, knowing that there is some semblance of cooperation being executed in this battle, but it isn't being fully explored yet. She glances around in case of a sudden attack from Sakuya, but instead spots a figure in the horizon flying in the fight's direction. Aya can recognize this figure, so her smirk widens. "Well then, that was a fun change of pace from these busy days," she remarks as she then locks eyes with Marisa, "However, I really must turn down your offer. My job as a reporter is of a much higher priority, you see. Since I can't waste more time playing around like this, I'll get going."

"No way, you're backing out in the middle of the battle?" Marisa incredulously questions before frowning at Aya. "That's unfair, Aya!" Marisa points at Aya accusingly, but Aya merely chuckles.

She then shakes her head in denial. "No, no," she says with a chipper smile on her face, "I'm forfeiting the match and escaping from your arrangement; you are simply too strong for me to handle." _Something tells me she's makin' fun of us,_ Marisa begrudgingly thinks with a blank gaze: when it comes to Aya, she would never know, or so she dryly concludes. "Besides, I've made no actual promises to you." With her free hand, Aya casually waves at the people she has just faced off with and starts flying off. "Good luck with finding the shrine maiden! I'm rooting for you!" The last part of her shout was only faintly audible as her amazing speeds leave the search party unable to catch up with her. Even Sakuya, who can simply stop time, finds herself bewildered at the much faster speed Aya used to escape them.

"What farce is this...?!" Futo protests as her mind finally registered Aya's sudden escape from the battle. She glares at the sky, even though Aya is no longer at the area Futo is so vehemently focusing on.

Meanwhile, Alice frowns cynically and comments, "How unfair. She gets to run away and I couldn't?" She crosses her arms indignantly and glances at Marisa, having known she is being blankly stared at by her.

"Were you really not that up for finding Reimu?" Marisa sourly asks, sharing the same mood as everyone in her party. Everyone enjoys a good battle, and Marisa enjoys spellcards especially: it irritates her that Aya so simply forfeited and ran away from a perfectly enjoyable, tactical battle where the powers of the party were being combined in an effort to beat a Tengu in a supposed fighting mood (rather than Aya's usual non-serious stances when being inadvertently attacked by the people she interviews). The fact that perhaps, Aya wasn't fighting so seriously begins sinking in for her.

Beyond Reimu's disappearance, this is the gloomiest occurrence of the day for Marisa. "I was busy," Alice retorts, "I had to miss my plans because of you. Of course I was not in the mood today." She then sighs. "But still, we were being toyed with; how frustrating."

"I'll have to teach that Tengu a lesson the next time I find her," Sakuya says as she stores a few knives she has recovered from the fight. No one saw how she got them, since she stopped time to retrieve them.

"Me too," Alice interjects.

"So do I," Futo adds.

"Yup." Marisa assertively nods to herself and looks around, only to have her eyes widen in curiosity at the person she sees before her. "Oh, hey there, Miko. Didn't think I'd see ya here."

Futo immediately turns to the side in shock. "Crown Prince?!" She rushes to Marisa's side so as to be directly in front of Miko, who ominously glances to the side, specifically where Aya had flown towards, before smiling amusedly. Futo respectfully bows at Miko with a serious expression, but her agitated demeanor quickly returns. "Wert not you on your way to investigate Lady Reimu's whereabouts?" However, her Crown Prince being her Crown Prince, Futo smiled in a prideful manner. "I suppose one such as you wouldst have so quickly solved this case in comparison to us." At that, Miko lets out a sigh, which serves to startle Futo. "C-Crown Prince? Is something amiss?"

"My investigation was mostly fruitless," Miko states with a troubled frown. Futo vacantly blinks once and twice, processing such words and that they did, in fact, come from Miko's mouth. Noting her demeanor as uncharacteristic, Marisa regards her with confusion. Alice and Sakuya, who only faintly remember seeing Miko fight in a previous incident as a religious leader, wonder what exactly Futo means with calling her 'Crown Prince'. "The only fact that I've asserted from it is that the new mountain has no ties with Reimu's disappearance, which was what we theorized in the first place. Though it is beneficial to narrow down a possibility, I was admittedly expecting more information out of the mountain..."

Futo frowns dejectedly as she lays eyes on a clearly displeased Miko. To others, she may seem only slightly disappointed, but Futo can tell that the unexpectedly bad results of her Crown Prince's plans have somewhat frustrated her, as she has never been fond of unexpected occurrences. Marisa can tell Miko isn't in high spirits from being reminded of her progress either, so she gives her a more or less casual smile. "Yeah, Alice confirmed that to us already, too, so it's not like we didn't know that either..."

"Lady Marisa!" Futo reprimands with an especially displeased frown, "Thou art currently speaking with the Crown Prince! Watch thy tongue!" However, as she looks towards Miko again, she sees her curiously staring behind Marisa, where Sakuya and Alice are mumbling to each other in an almost suspicious manner. While Alice is deviously smirking, Sakuya's smile displays as much elegance as it does unease to others.

A smile surfaces on Miko's face once more, one very characteristic of her. Futo regards this with the utmost curiosity as she turns around to observe Alice and Sakuya. "By Alice, you mean this fellow remarking about Reimu's pitiful loss against me during the religious wars?" Though Reimu had also beaten Miko at the time, Miko does not choose to comment on this fact for obvious reasons. Miko points at Alice, who shifts her attention to Miko in slight surprise at the quick guess and sharp hearing.

So as to appear unaffected by this, however, Alice decisively nods. "That would be me, yes," she responds, "I've visited the mountain much earlier on and arrived to the exact same conclusion so, naturally, I told Marisa about it. Since I got forcefully dragged into this mess, that is." Alice defiantly glances at Marisa, who's crossing her arms in slight annoyance at what she perceives to be her denial of the great time she's had so far (consisting of being beaten twice and beating Sakuya).

"Do excuse the magician beside me," Sakuya says with a smile as she gracefully points at Alice, "she appears to still be sulking."

Alice snaps her head towards Sakuya and grimaces. "S-sulking? I'm rightfully complaining," she protests, seemingly flustered as much as she tries to hide it. "Not that you would understand the meaning of rebellion, judging by how you're such a loyal dog to your mistress." Alice rolls her eyes condescendingly, only for Sakuya's smile to slowly and subtly dissipate.

"Rebels are usually executed," Sakuya remarks, "Did you know that?" Clearly, Alice's retort negatively affected Sakuya, who seems at least somewhat annoyed. Even then, Sakuya vaguely comes off as elegant despite the fact that she is clearly quarreling with Alice, who she is supposed to cooperate with in search for Reimu.

At this, Miko chuckles, amused. "I see that even your new members get along wonderfully in your party." The dignified presence exuding from Miko's smile almost makes her seem as though she is shining, which momentarily makes Marisa flinch at the sheer brightness.

Even then, knowing that Miko means no harm or negative implication with her words, Marisa casually retorts, "I wouldn't bother makin' an inconsistent search party; who do you take me for?" She then shrugs, admittedly not up to stopping Alice and Sakuya if they do decide to fight each other. Futo stares at them in unease, wondering if it really is alright to let them be. "Anyway, if you came all this way for us, you probably had more to say, right?" Hoping to hear something more useful from Miko, Marisa's expression grows slightly serious as she crosses her arms.

"Well, my main purpose for appearing was to check on you, but I do have a few more topics to tell you about," Miko responds, her smile not faltering despite having to remind herself of her failed plan; she has decided to move past that by this point. "Firstly, you have no need to search the Youkai Mountain: you are being kindly helped on that end." She then playfully winks, though even that manages to appear dignified. The gesture makes Marisa's frown deepen as she wonders what exactly Miko means with her words. "And lastly, you have visited the Hakurei Shrine, haven't you?"

Marisa finds herself slightly surprised at the question, especially since the answer should be obvious. Besides, she didn't expect that Miko had come to speak about this rather than to give any more information on Reimu's disappearance: even if Marisa's plan is to search over Gensokyo by collecting a considerable number of people, a lead on Reimu's whereabouts would have been greatly convenient to her. Unfortunately, Miko seems to have no such thing, which can be especially noted by her question. "Well, yeah, of course I went to the shrine. Reimu wasn't there." She glances to the side, not particularly cheery about the topic.

"As expected." She pensively crosses her arms. With a more or less serious expression, originated from the rightfully serious topic, she assertively says, "Describe the location. Was there nothing different about the shrine?"

Confused, Marisa utters, "Huh?" That admittedly isn't a question Marisa thought Miko would ask. "I didn't really look around the place in detail, but it seemed just fine to me. Why would the shrine be any different?" The more she thinks about it, the more confused she grows so she ends up grimacing in the midst of her thoughts.

"Reimu is missing, isn't she? The only location we know Reimu has been in is the shrine, so it's imperative to look through it in case something happened in there," Miko explains her reasoning with full confidence in her words, finding it stranger that Marisa herself hadn't reached her conclusion beforehand.

"Oh..." Marisa mutters as she absent-mindedly nods to herself. "Well, I talked to someone who's been living in the shrine and she saw Reimu before she left so I didn't think about looking through the place." Marisa refrained from directly referring to Shinmyoumaru as she assumed Miko has never met her, seeing as she had no involvement in the incident Shinmyoumaru was a part of.

Proving her unawareness of Shinmyoumaru's existence, Miko's eyes widen in surprise at the implications of Marisa's words. "Someone who has been living in the shrine? You mean that someone has actually seen Reimu before her disappearance?" Miko's surprised expression fades into a more convicted one, though with the slightest tinge of urgency. "This may just be promising," Miko mutters as she casts her eyes downwards in deep thought. Then, she shifts her attention back to Marisa. "Marisa, is there any chance that the person living at the shrine would leave it today?"

"Not that I'd know of," Marisa confusedly responds, wondering what exactly Miko is planning. "She's got her circumstances, so I don't think she'd leave the shrine like that. What about it?"

"I need to speak to her immediately." The clear, direct way that Miko phrased that statement, combined with the convicted and serious expression from her makes Marisa look at her in slight awe of her naturally commanding presence. However, conscious of the fact that she has perhaps seemed too intimidating, Miko calmly smiles so as to soothe any doubts out of Marisa: it's a charming smile, but Marisa remains unchanged. "Depending on the results of that, we may just meet again." Afterwards, as she almost looks through Marisa, Miko's smile widens in a devious manner. "And I can only hope your party members will be intact at the time."

Marisa immediately turns around, only to find Sakuya and Alice having a spellcard duel, with Futo wholeheartedly cheering for both of them, depending on who overturns the other's chances of winning. Marisa's focus on Miko's words led her not to notice Futo's loud voice, but it's undoubtable that they have been fighting for a while now; the victor is uncertain so far. Marisa sighs as she blankly stares at Alice and Sakuya; Miko snickers. "Since your search party seems rather lively, I trust you'll progress swiftly," Miko remarks, "So there is nothing to worry about here." Satisfied, Miko floats backwards, intent on leaving. "This is farewell for now. Hopefully we shall see each other again." She waves at Marisa as she goes, and then lets her gaze momentarily linger on Futo's excited cheering. When she turns around to take off at full speed, she does so with a proud smile on her face.

Marisa watches Miko go for a while, asking herself what exactly Miko would find from talking to Shinmyoumaru that Marisa didn't. But then again, it's been implied that Marisa's investigation wasn't thorough enough, which she can understand but not be particularly satisfied with, since she happens to be serious about finding Reimu. Finally, Marisa decides to focus on Alice and Sakuya; she swiftly approaches them. "What're you all slackin' off for, huh? I might be getting the credit for finding Reimu, but you're supposed to be doin' something useful," Marisa remarks with a casual stance, as though she isn't actually that bothered by the occurrence she is witnessing, which she isn't. In fact, a spellcard duel is far from something Marisa doesn't condone, and the only reason she is stopping it is because she's seen this matchup already in one day, and doesn't feel as though there is a need to see it again. Instead, she's more up to seeing a fight with the other people.

Sakuya, Alice and Futo simultaneously stop what they're doing and look towards Marisa in slight surprise for being interrupted. Then, Futo, noticing the lack of Miko's presence in the area, scans the surroundings in shock. "Halt, Lady Marisa, what of the Crown Prince?" she immediately asks in an agitated fashion, still glancing about the sky with no signs of Miko appearing. Processing her absence once and for all, Futo helplessly exclaims, "To think I've distracted myself to the point of paying no mind to the Crown Prince's words...! I've said not even any parting words to her! I must apologize!"

"Hold it, Futo. If Miko were all bothered about that, she would've probably told you off," Marisa counters, "Don't just leave on me." Despite those words, Futo seems unconvinced, which has Marisa frown in a troubled manner. "Didn't she tell you to help me out? You wouldn't be helpin' me out by going off to look for Miko."

... Only then does Futo find herself in deep thought over Marisa's words. Her head tilts to the side as she hums pensively, her expression notably focused. Meanwhile, Alice is grimacing. "Marisa, don't just interrupt us. I would've immediately won if not for you," Alice bitterly states before glancing at Sakuya, whose subtly devious expression suggests that her opinion does not match Alice's.

"Truly, you should have patiently waited for the duel to end. Now it'll be impossible to have her gain any awareness of her inferiority by way of knives. Don't you find that pitiful?" Sakuya smiles after making such a comment, as though she were confident Alice has no better comeback to it. It's clear both are still willing to continue fighting.

However, Futo suddenly positions herself between Alice and Sakuya: her strangely self-righteous stance warrants confused expressions from the people she is blocking. "Let's stop this conflict! Our priority is to find Lady Reimu as quickly as possible. Should not we be deliberating on who to recruit into our ranks next? To be distracted from our goals is to abandon Lady Reimu!" Despite the dramatic words, Futo sounds confident and proud, and her expression displays nothing than strange, sudden conviction. "And to abandon Lady Reimu is to insult the Crown Prince's efforts!"

"If that's the case, your 'Crown Prince' must be feeling sorely offended by you," Sakuya immediately retorted without hesitation or mercy, wearing a remarkably apathetic, yet strangely absent-minded-looking expression. Even while completely crushing Futo's determination, Sakuya's demeanor remains elegant.

Alice nods in agreement with Sakuya. "Who are you to talk, really? You were the one loudly shouting whenever the tides would turn in the duel all excitedly." The clearly condescending look from Alice is enough to shoot Futo down completely, who utters a pained sound in her despair, as though she were wincing. Her eyes are cast downwards as if she has no right to meet anyone's gaze while she gloomily ponders on whether Miko has indeed looked down on Futo's behavior previously, or simply found it so acceptable she left.

"You guys are scary," Marisa remarks with a disturbed expression, though she herself doesn't feel that disturbed at this point. She has gotten to know Sakuya and Alice well enough to expect this sort of behavior from them. Besides, even if she weren't used to them, Marisa would still remain surprisingly casual at the sight. "Don't just crush her motivation like that. I need it for the search party."

"That's what she gets for calling me weaker than Sakuya," Alice responds with a smirk, "If she thought I'd forget, she's greatly mistaken." Alice almost seems proud of her own memory and, while she's aware that Futo told that to Alice on purpose to incite conflict, she is actually having her vengeance for that rather than the insult.

"Though, again, she wasn't lying," Sakuya adds almost out of reflex, which makes Alice's focus shift back to Sakuya. This time, it wasn't even as though Sakuya wanted to invite conflict, but she felt the need to counter negative implications on her end which makes her almost absent-mindedly make such a statement.

Meanwhile, Marisa is patting Futo's back with a wry smile on her face. "C'mon, we've been through this: Miko's not mad at all. Totally." The unconvincing words from Marisa bring Futo back to reality and out of her thoughts, but not because they've improved her mood. Instead, reminding herself of what she has been tasked to do, Futo recomposes herself, though she still seems slightly saddened at her supposed mistake.

"... Regardless, I may only give mine apologies to the Crown Prince when I return from this task, so I must continue my cooperation at all costs." As she further considers this, Futo slowly nods to herself in a decisive manner, almost as if confirming her flawless logic in her mind with an overly serious expression for the situation: in Futo's perspective, anything involving Miko is beyond serious business, after all.

Futo's recovery snaps Alice from her bickering with Sakuya, making her retort, "So that's your motive in the end?" She's staring at Futo blankly, but this time, Futo seems unaffected.

"Well, you were forced and Sakuya's been ordered by Remilia because she feels like takin' on Reimu and the perpetrator, so it's not like that's any worse." Marisa shrugs before deviously smiling. "As you can see, I like my parties consistent."

"Putting everything back on track, however," Sakuya pensively says before anyone can contribute to the conversation with more witty remarks, "how about we visit someone who can search for Reimu in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost? It would admittedly be troublesome to send any of us out on such grounds since we would easily be lost. In my opinion, it would be wiser to find someone knowledgeable in the area and leave them with searching there." This is purely for her own convenience as Sakuya imagines herself lost in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost and feels the need to avoid such a fate as much as possible.

Normally, it would make sense to complain about the very sudden change of topic, but since the topic brought up was the topic the search party needs and wants to address to begin with, everyone else has no room to protest and are forced to go along with Sakuya. "That would be wise, yes," Alice vaguely states, being too deep in thought to give more input.

"But who would ever fit this criteria?" Futo questions, unfamiliar with the Bamboo Forest of the Lost to begin with. What she does know, which she heard from people of the Human Village, is that it's normally impossible not to be lost in the forest, and that traversing through it is only possible due to someone who can guide them through it. Immediately, that statement comes to mind for Futo, but since it doesn't provide any leads for who to ask, she refrains from saying it, as it would cause confusion.

However, Marisa, by hearing Futo's question, suddenly smiles brightly, as though she thought of something amazing at that very moment. "I know just the person! If we ask her, she's just gotta help us." Seeing Marisa so cheerful attracts the attention of everyone else, who curiously look towards her. Then, Sakuya and Alice smile knowingly; Futo remains confused.

"I've a feeling I know exactly who you're talking about," Alice confidently remarks, "And I definitely think asking her will be a good idea."

"I see you were quick to be on the same page as me on this matter," Sakuya responds to Marisa's suggestion, "It really would only make sense to request her help in this situation."

Futo glances at Alice, Sakuya and Marisa repeatedly in utter confusion. "Halt, halt, halt," Futo interjects, "This time, I shall get a grasp of your implications! To whom are you referring to?"

"You'll see," Marisa immediately responds in a purposefully vague manner, smirking at Futo for her ignorance.

"It'll be clear to you when the time comes," Sakuya adds, but the statement is equally vague on purpose; Sakuya smiles.

"If you want to know, you'd better get moving," Alice says before the three begin flying towards a set destination Futo has no knowledge of, leaving her to momentarily stare in bewilderment as they are farther and farther away from her.

... Then, in her agitation, Futo proceeds to fly after them at maximum speed while shouting, "That's beyond unreasonable! You shan't be able to act this way after I catch up to you, I guarantee!"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

In the end, the one standing after the mysterious battle is the human shrine maiden. Her gaze is cold, as though uncaring of the writhing form in front of her, sprawled on the floor of her own parlor, but she does not deal the finishing blow. She closes her eyes. "This is what you get for challenging me." With only those words, Reimu smoothly walks over the spider monster she has supposedly beaten while fiercely attempting to keep a cool, stern expression that's completely uncharacteristic of her. Usually, Reimu looks neutral, angry or satisfied after beating something up, so it's simply unfamiliar to her to be like this.

According to the screens that were briefly displayed during the broadcast moment of the fight, the monster's name is Muffet. Before the end of the break, she mentioned having an interesting ability in combat, but the script apparently did not allow for it because it's strong enough to rival Reimu's chances of victory. That aggravated Reimu at first, since it was as though she was being underestimated, but at the same time, she now wonders what exactly that move is. Afterwards, in an attempt not to break her character, Reimu decides to think upon its nuances.

... To Reimu, her character makes no sense. Infuriated over her loss against Mettaton, she longs for a rematch... while simultaneously running away from Mettaton to escape to the surface? Reimu herself would simply try to take down Mettaton as many times as necessary before actually going somewhere; one thing at the time. Not only that, but she seems murderous towards everyone in general, but hasn't actually been seen killing a single soul in the show: she has outright spared Muffet just now. In the midst of figuring out her own character, Reimu's expression distorts itself slightly to show some sort of confusion within her. Even as she reminds herself of the script, Reimu doesn't see how a sad story that justifies her motivations makes her any more concise.

However, those are spoilers. Knowing that ahead of her, something else awaits, something in the form of a rectangle, Reimu steels herself again for Mettaton's appearance as she walks forward. Exiting Muffet's parlor, Reimu sees a path with walls at each side in a purple color. Wind of unseen origin is blowing on Reimu, making her hair sway with it. The walls are littered with promotional posters about all sorts of Mettaton-centered shows, each one cornier than the next.

In the horizon, a single spotlight shines downwards, and reveals the show's hero, Mettaton, in all his glory. The artificial wind ceases to blow. "I SAW THAT, DARLING." The tacky name-calling makes it especially obvious that Mettaton is right in front of her, but rather than calling out the fact that there was no need for the spotlight, Reimu finds that she needs to say something different for the sake of fulfilling her end of their deal.

"What are you talking about?" she asks in a supposedly reserved manner, frowning at him as though he were trying to find out all of her secrets. The actual performance simply makes her seem displeased, but that emotion is enough to carry the line decently.

"OH, YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. THANKS TO THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS INSTALLED BY THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS, I'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE THAT FIGHT FROM A DISTANCE. IN THE END, YOU COULDN'T BRING YOURSELF TO KILL HER, COULD YOU?" There is some supposed weight to those words, but Reimu herself wouldn't have felt it in her character's position. However, she notes, this is apparently a big deal to this character. "I'M ALWAYS RIGHT SO YOU DON'T NEED TO DENY IT." Despite the scene also focusing on Reimu, the spotlight remains on Mettaton. If anything, even more spotlights shine on him afterwards.

"Huuuh?" Reimu attempts to resentfully scowl by thinking of an array of troublesome things, like her lack of visitors to her shrine and the rumors about her being a supporter of youkai. She manages to succeed, and, noticing that, finds herself realizing that perhaps, this is the secret to acting. Proud of herself, she thinks, _Now you can bet I'll be a pro at this acting business! Mettaton'll tell me how to leave in no time!_ However, she immediately forces her thoughts to go back to bad things, such as her lack of an income. "I just don't feel like wasting time on anyone other than you. And speaking of that, you better prepare yourself, Mettaton! This time, you're going down for sure!" _These really tend to be this character's last words..._

Reimu is admittedly unhappy by thinking of negative things, so she deems the idea worthless even if for the sake of a believable expression since her mind automatically reverts Reimu to neutrality. "NOW NOW, DARLING. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE BEEN THROUGH THIS? BY THIS POINT, YOU'RE BORING THE AUDIENCE." It annoys Reimu that Mettaton himself is pointing out the flaws of the script, especially as it does not amuse her to be acting as a character so objectively boring.

"I couldn't care less about your audience," Reimu venomously spouts before turning her head towards a nearby camera. With her right hand, she takes out a single needle. "This...!" The needle swiftly flies towards the camera's lens and mercilessly pierces through it. "Is what I'd do to your audience if it were around to get in my way." Another camera is conveniently filming this ruthless attack, broadcasting to the Underground the dramatic fall of the broken camera. It lands a meter next to Reimu, who makes sure to coldly gaze at the unrecognizable machine (she can at least deduct it connects Mettaton's audience to Mettaton's location). "It's what you monsters would do to the humans anyway. Isn't that your plan? You'll take my soul, break the barrier and destroy humanity." _Not that the surface youkai would ever let that happen._ Reimu faces Mettaton, who seems unfazed, though that may just be because his mechanic body makes him appear that way without hassle. "Destroying humanity would be just fine too, but your sick act proves how much you also deserve to die." Accusingly, as though she is about to attack, Reimu points her Purification Rod at Mettaton. "Get ready, Mettaton!"

 **'*The epic re-re-rematch commences.'**

Even at that, Mettaton doesn't seem preoccupied. Reimu is expecting this, and she charges without hesitation at his mechanical body. **"Dream Sign: Illusionary Assault!"** The double meanings are evident, but Reimu doesn't care much for subtlety with her spellcards at this point, especially since they aren't made to be challenging. Reimu stops dashing precisely when the tip of her Purification Rod barely reaches Mettaton, a slight wind forming from the abrupt pause that carries a group of ying-yang orbs along. Reimu then jumps back and successively throws three semi-circular rows of red amulets.

As Reimu closes her eyes, as though concentrating. Then, Reimu charges yet again while Mettaton manages to slip by the three rows Reimu has created. In the nick of time, he is able to roll away from Reimu, who stops and brings more ying-yang orbs forward along with the momentum of the dash. Like before, she then jumps back and throws the three rows of amulets, which are truly the only obstacle worth worrying about. The ying-yang orbs are purposefully keeping to the corners of the rows, and the amulets themselves slowly scatter away from each other, creating obvious gaps. As much as the purpose of spellcards is, effectively, not to be impossible to dodge, it also isn't very entertaining to easily dodge them: it's the balance between something challenging, but not deadly that one has to achieve to have a fair spellcard battle occur. Beauty and grace are also factors, and the a few of the things Reimu is currently vaguely adhering to while making such easy spellcards.

The strange poses Mettaton makes after dodging the pattern serve to actually annoy Reimu, which ends up helping her acting. "Tch..." That sound is part of Reimu's deliberate improvisation, something she is currently regarding with a lot of pride. If she is already minding the small details of her bland character's thought process, then she surely must be very convincing. "What are you trying to prove anyway? Instead of pulling this whole show, you could've just tried to get my soul already. I can tell you're holding back, Mettaton, and I don't like that one bit!" The irony in Reimu's words have her frown seem even more bitter, and she starts wondering if Mettaton meant for Reimu to feel negatively about the script so she can come off just as negatively as necessary in the actual show. She then dismisses the hypothesis on the grounds that Mettaton wouldn't possibly be that conniving. Or so she believes.

Even though Mettaton himself hasn't attacked yet, Reimu's character claims Mettaton is going easy on her. Reimu can't find the logical thread for this beyond the fact that he so easily lets her run away every time they fight, but she still thinks that's rather farfetched. "HOLDING BACK? OF COURSE I'M HOLDING BACK. THE ONLY TIME YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SHOW OFF YOUR ULTIMATE POWERS IS AT THE GRAND FINALE! WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN THERE YET, BEAUTIFUL. AND IF YOU DON'T START THINKING ABOUT YOUR ACTIONS UP TO THIS POINT, WE MIGHT NEVER GET THERE AT ALL."

Reimu huffs. "My actions? They're the logical result of how terrible this world is!" she claims, as though emotionally affected by what seems to be Mettaton's taunt; to Reimu, it's hard to comprehend. "Everyone acts for themselves, and themselves only! Even when it just looks like they're being nice, when things get tough, you end up abandoned! Betrayed! You think I can stand living like that? I came to this mountain for a reason!" The escapist mentality has Reimu actually grimace: any problem should just be faced head on; it's simply easier that way. "But in the end, monsters are just as bad! I mean, just look at you: you don't actually care about anything but your attention-grabbing charade! You just want people to fawn over how great you are, and nothing else!" The irony, Reimu notes, is that this is probably the truth. "You're the epitome of selfishness!"

At first, Reimu didn't really care about her character's actions. However, the more she acts out her role, the more she is growing to put consideration into it, and she is verifying that the Reimu she's playing is a fairly troublesome person; the type Reimu just exterminates and hopes she's learned her lesson afterwards. She had no choice in the matter: Reimu needs to think of her character's thought process to get the acting right (granted, her acting is still at a lacking level despite now thinking a bit more about her mentality). "D-d-don't say that about Mettaton!" Alphys suddenly protests, which is part of the script, but makes Reimu wonder where exactly her voice is coming from. Some sort of device she has never seen, perhaps? Looking at Mettaton, she figures something might be stuck behind him which connects Alphys's voice with this location, something he may have implemented while she was talking to Muffet. After all, Mettaton has not shown his back side at all to Reimu or the cameras: Reimu assumes he's hiding something there. "H-he's—!"

"DON'T WORRY, DOCTOR ALPHYS," Mettaton says, cutting Alphys off. Meanwhile, Reimu wonders when the fight is going to resume. Supposedly, turns are skipped with distraction, but since both are distracted, it's likely that turns are being successively skipped at the moment. "IN COMPARISON TO HER AT LEAST, I'M PERFECTLY FINE. BUT STILL, I CAN'T LET THOSE WORDS SLIP BY, DARLING. AFTER ALL, THEY CHALLENGE MY INTEGRITY AS THE UNDERGROUND'S STAR."

Reimu glances to the side out of not feeling up to rolling her eyes without meaning it. "Of course they do," she bitterly mutters. From what she remembers of the script, it isn't as though there will be much else before the show's climax; it's close. That thought serves to fuel her motivation, since Reimu would admittedly like to be doing something else. Unfortunately, she has agreed to acting, and can't presently escape the position she is in.

"AND IT ISN'T BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE THINKING," Mettaton sharply counters while his screens turn red. "I CERTAINLY WON'T DENY THAT I LOVE THE ATTENTION MY WONDERFUL FANS GIVE ME. BUT, DARLING. IF A SHOW WAS ALL ABOUT THE PERFORMER, THERE WOULDN'T EVEN BE A PERFORMER IN THE FIRST PLACE. ALL PEOPLE WANT BRIGHT AND HOPEFUL LIVES. WHAT ENTERTAINMENT PROVIDES IS EXACTLY THAT: IT MAKES YOU FORGET HARDSHIPS AND BRIGHTENS YOUR DAY. IS THAT REALLY SUCH A BAD THING?" The question is posed in an awfully serious manner, and to Reimu, the answer is obvious. Unfortunately, she isn't in a position where she can respond to Mettaton, or else, she would've agreed with him: if the nature of entertainment is indeed that, then Reimu can't fault its presence; instead, she can only consider it a necessary existence. "IT'S THE CORE OF SHOW BUSINESS, AND SHOW BUSINESS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR. I COULD'VE JUST TAKEN YOUR SOUL, BUT WHAT GOOD WOULD THAT HAVE DONE FOR OUR AUDIENCE? THIS BROADCAST IS A BROADCAST OF HOPE FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR TEN VIEWERS!" _Only ten people are watching?_ Reimu thought Mettaton was popular. "BY TAKING YOUR SOUL LIVE, I'LL BRIGHTEN THEIR LIVES LIKE NEVER BEFORE! THEY'LL FINALLY GET TO LEAVE THIS CRAMPED UNDERGROUND AND SEE THE SURFACE IN ALL ITS GLORY! THAT'S WHY I'M THE UNDERGROUND'S STAR, DARLING! THIS MOMENT'S MY CALLING!"

Reimu blinks, jealously noting how gripping Mettaton sounded despite the fact that he was shamelessly spouting propaganda about himself in a completely fabricated show: if she had such charisma, she would've had visitors in no time. _Maybe I should invest my time in acting,_ Reimu thinks in a rather easygoing manner. Mettaton has been acting, but he could sound genuinely invested in what he was doing in comparison to Reimu, who doesn't particularly know how to distinctively express the genuine emotions of someone who isn't herself. However, reminding herself of the fact that she was actually supposed to have been looking clearly distressed and agitated from Mettaton's speech rather than in slight awe and jealousy, Reimu attempts to flinch before frowning in a saddened manner while keeping her head low. "That's what they all say..." Reimu pauses as she realizes she has no idea of what follows after that line; not even a hunch (which tends to be what Reimu actually follows). However, she decides to use her intuition and take liberties, which isn't so different from what she has been doing so far. "What... a bunch of excuses! I hate everyone and they should all die for all I... care!"

Unable to find any more worth in making up more lines to replace the ones she forgot, Reimu follows the script by making a quick and panicked escape from Mettaton, who is supposedly emotionally affecting her from his speech, as it's closely related to the character's tragic past of betrayal and darkness; to Reimu, it still seems like propaganda. Despite the fact that she flies forward, towards Mettaton, Mettaton himself only turns around and seemingly doesn't have the reaction time to follow after Reimu so suddenly. Reimu wonders how it's even possible not to stop someone running in one's own direction as she flies at great speeds, with the entrance to the MTT Resort as her apparent goal. Reimu herself isn't actually clearly aware of how to get there, but the directions are apparently straightforward, according to Muffet.

At her break, Reimu actually took the time to look through and attempt to memorize her script again, which is why she has some memory of it at the moment (otherwise, she would've painfully forgotten the majority of her lines): even then, she still willfully changes words from the script at her own discretion and doesn't bother fixating the majority of gestures she is supposed to make. She is regarding the show as a priority to leave the Underground and get to Gensokyo, and that is immensely aiding her motivation to remember the script in general.

She can already spot the orange rock forming the normal paths of Hotland in the horizon, but so can she also see a variety of paths. _This doesn't look straightforward at all..._ she mentally remarks before she recalls that she has to still speak while on the move. "Everyone's the same, the exact same...! Vile, self-centered, arrogant..." she says, "And yet..." As she reaches the middle of the multiple paths she had seen before, Reimu briefly looks around and, by intuition alone, guesses that the resort must be up the stairs to her left. She turns in that direction and struggles to bitterly frown while flying up the stairs. "Why don't I just kill them?" When Reimu finds herself face to face with the resort, she lands. "Why can't I just do it...? Even Mettaton, I can't..." She shakes her head. "Nonsense. Why am I like this? The answer's so simple: deliver the finishing blow on one, and you'll get them all." Reimu grips her Purification Rod harder and smirks.

Is this the time? Is it finally the time for the promised bloodshed? A storm of questions and expectations should supposedly rush through the minds of the audience as they gaze at Reimu's expression, which takes the form of something unassuming, inhumane. Her mouth is but a thin, monotone, somber line, and her line of sight is directed only at the building's entrance; from the glass lit by the lamps, she can spot moving, living figures. With the determined gaze of a predator, conveying a twisted sort of steely lack of emotionality, Reimu rushes forward, towards the resort. Towards what all can assume to be her future victims...

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

Dat cliffhanger though. I tried really hard with my descriptions on this last paragraph, if you didn't notice. Listening to ominous Diao Ze Yong tracks also helps. What will become of the monsters of the resort under the relentless iron fist of the shrine maiden? Well, technically nothing ^^' The original plan, to be perfectly honest, was to split this whole Hotland show into 2 parts: Chapter 10, which would be until Muffet's appearance, and Chapter 11, which would be until the end of the Core. However, I noticed that this chapter was getting really, really full of content and that putting so much stuff after a relatively short (in this story's standards) chapter like Chapter 10 would make for a lack of balance in how the chapters work. Chapter 9 got away with its word count because it was all necessary to the chapter, but it's obvious that the rest of Hotland can be put in another chapter just fine and it'll make 13000 words like this one. So, uh, there you go, now there's another chapter left until New Home, hahaha.

I really wanted to make the start follow up after the cliffhanger because I know people will want to know what happens next, and they're either assuming they'll see Touhou first or maybe some semblance of a fight between Muffet and Reimu... or not. I think that by this point, everyone knows how rare an actual narrated fight is here. Besides, I reeeeeaaally wanted to have Reimu talk with Muffet. And so she did, and it worked out much better than I thought. Really, when I was just starting my plans on the Hotland part of the story, the one obstacle that stood in the way of Reimu getting through things was Muffet. Muffet is a hard boss. I mean, you can beat her, but it's a huge challenge. With that in mind, Reimu would struggle a lot with Muffet to the point where I wouldn't be sure if Reimu could really win against her in one try. Fortunately, the whole show thing happened, which rendered Muffet an ally of Reimu's instead of an enemy, so they don't actually battle. It's cool how, because of circumstances alone, Reimu and Muffet actually got along. If they weren't working together, I don't think it would've quite gone like this.

Muffet is a bit difficult to write, since you have to perfectly time her chuckles and tildes, along with not actually making Muffet too graceful. Muffet is more cute-graceful than elegant-graceful, so she comes off as a more adorable character than she does composed. Besides, she doesn't speak very fancy, and instead just seems like a very easily-amused character. Describing the stuff her hands are doing is actually really neat. Muffet doesn't seem like the type to care that much about the human souls, especially since the sole reason she tries to get your soul is because she got hired to do so. Similarly, Muffet was hired to be on the show, and she complied seeing as it involves those sweet Gs. So, Muffet doesn't really care that she's talking to a human and has the spiders' freedom as the higher priority. Muffet still seems like she's naturally greedy though, and those poor monsters were basically bullied into buying her pastries ^^' Reimu and Muffet somehow work alright together when it comes to interactions.

I'm starting to feel bad for Papyrus when it comes to calls because Reimu just calls him over the most pointless or terrible things and is really rude XD On one hand, it's like I'm repeating a dead joke, but on the other hand, wouldn't Reimu bother calling Papyrus over money? Personally, last chapter's conversation was better, but we'll see more Papyrus soon enough. Speaking of Papyrus, even he got annoyed at Reimu's rudeness, which is definitely something that can happen. I've seen in many fics Papyrus apparently being so nice that he can't even get mad at people, but you actually see him getting angry a lot in the game, particularly at Sans (pfft, siblings, am I right? ;D). Papyrus is nice, but he's not an angel, geez. Even then, I imagine he's quick to forgive like Reimu, so in a way, Reimu has a few things in common with Papyrus 0.o Like, Sans is the one that actually makes money (this is canonically stated; Sans pays the house's rent), so it's easy to imagine Papyrus actually just gets money from Sans. Besides, you don't get money from beating him (well, you don't really get it from other bosses, but I have to justify my taken liberties somewhere). Anyway, plz don't hurt me for the interpretations ;_; By the way, Reimu's fourth wall breaking though. I've had her do these jokes about three times now XD They happened in the games, and I do like that sort of stuff, too.

The thing about Reimu is that she can be really silly while also pointing out other silly things depending on the circumstance, so, unlike fanfictions that portray Reimu as the grumpy straight-man, she doesn't actually tend to be the straight-man (especially to Marisa) most of the time; if anything, Marisa tends to be the straight-man a lot! Though, Marisa is more of a witty straight-man. Either way, Reimu can be hilarious, and Marisa is actually supposed to be the relatable character of Touhou. Putting that aside, surprised at the Nitori scene, huh? I wanted a scene with kappa, so I figured that since I'm writing kappa, Nitori should be there. Things I've researched about kappa in Touhou is that they apparently suck at teamwork, but work really well when it comes to things they're individually interested in. That was perfect for the scene I was writing, since I could have a few kappa slip away from the group because they're more interested in other things. Kappa show up a good amount in Wild and Horned Hermit, so sshhh, let's pretend the kappa there are kappa from that series and not random OCs! ^^' Nitori seems kind of shy in Mountain of Faith, but that was probably because she didn't know Reimu or Marisa at the time and wanted to stop them from coming to the mountain. Any other occasion, Nitori's really blunt and actually has a really dynamic demeanor; it's said she's more cheerful around friends. All around, Nitori's actually the kind of character that can display a lot of emotions, like frustration and annoyance and excitement and embarrassment, really easily and naturally. A lot of Touhou characters are that way, but Nitori is especially like that. I'm hoping you can actually get what I mean: someone with such expressive capability, I tend to refer to as 'dynamic'. Anyway, the scene itself serves a few purposes, but I'll need one or two more scenes to accompany this one so it'll have an actual effect.

And then... _woah!_ A part of a narrated spellcard battle...! Thought you'd never see something like that in this story, huh? I also thought I'd never write it, but I felt the need to have Aya go away, and I couldn't just have her go away all of a sudden, so I had to write part of the battle as build up for Aya seeing Miko from a distance and buggering off. Spellcard battles as seen in the games are probably not how they actually are in the world of Touhou, and instead, I think it's actually closer to the fighting games, which is still close enough. I read through the one manga that supposedly had battles in it, which was Silent Sinner in Blue (aka "How to Masterfully Troll the Lunarians Featuring Yukari Yakumo"), but that manga didn't actually give me much reference when it came to spellcard battles. People uh, announce the spellcard...? Then they shoot things and you can apparently parry them and destroy them however you want. Basically, it's like the fighting games. So I did it like the fighting games. You might be wondering if 4 vs 1 is against the rules, and I think it technically is, but there have been at least two battles that were one opponent against many, like in Touhou 13.5, so it's absolutely within the realm of possibility for Touhou to do this sort of stuff. Aya herself was fighting in a half-serious, half-I-wanna-find-a-chance-to-bugger-off manner, so it was all cool.

I imagine the way you can lose a spellcard battle in the protagonist's side is by having so many rematches that you eventually have no more motivation to go through with them and just give it up while carrying your bruised self back home. Just imagining the combined powers of Marisa, Alice, Sakuya and Futo into a spellcard, though 0.0 Those are all Stage 5-tier bosses. Even then, Aya is like, Extra Stage-tier; she accidentally wins battles omg! Anyway, in comes Miko! Miko wasn't actually meant to appear this many times within the story, but the more I think about it, the more Miko is actually a really important character now ^^' Either way, I gave some thought to how Miko treats Futo in general: I recalled some translation notes over a Victory Quote from Miko that Miko was very harshly referring to Futo and that Miko doesn't seem to treat her very well, but I can't imagine that actually being a thing (not only does omae seem to be the way she refers to most people, but the quote itself does not only infer a harsh or rude tone; the wording may instead imply familiarity and is probably more of a remark on an attitude Miko has known Futo to have; I mean, ffs, I've literally played a match against Futo using Miko to confirm that she's SMILING when she says that quote so it's obviously not something said with ill intent so why is it translated as 'damn trite' that's too harsh aaaah— Sorry, I just had to let it out, no offense to the translator, of course, since I'm sure they're doing their best). Whatever the case, Touhou 13.5 has Miko blankly wonder what Futo's doing in Futo's ending, but that's because Futo brought all the villagers' prized possessions instead of what she actually wanted (XD), so it makes sense, and Miko doesn't get mad at her or responds in a harsh manner. Not only that, but Touhou 14.5 has Miko tease Futo about her wish in Futo's ending because Futo naively thought she could make her wishes come true by collecting the Occult Balls, and Miko doesn't seem to be doing it with ill intent either; she appeared amused at Futo's behavior.

In other words, Miko is not harsh on Futo! Canon sources actually show otherwise! Hahaha, omg, I think I'm turning into Miko's number 1 defender ^^' With that in mind, Miko was actually more amused at Futo's absent-minded behavior in that scene and didn't say anything precisely because she didn't care that much; she'd probably only care if Futo were screwing up something important, which she wasn't. That reminds me of Miko's storyline in Touhou 14.5, in which the first stage where she fights Futo is named 'Domestic Violence' omg XDD Even in there, where Futo was borderline disobeying Miko, Miko didn't seem especially angry or rude towards her. She was just assertive like she usually is with serious affairs. Yes, I may just have constant rants for every time I write Miko. She's misunderstood! I was even almost gonna prepare another rant for more OOC portrayals I've seen of Miko, but I don't wanna ramble on (though omg, it's haunting my mind!). Putting that aside, Alice and Sakuya are amazing XD They bicker so beautifully.

I didn't want to have Sakuya portrayed as too elegant to be mad, because there are actually a lot of instances where Sakuya gets annoyed at things, so it was nice Alice making that one remark and actually annoying Sakuya. Besides, woah, Sakuya is savage, did you see what she said to Futo? Well, everyone in Touhou is kinda savage. Alice actually seems to have enough pride to go into denial, or so I can verify from Touhou 8, and it's nice exploring that part of Alice. Overall, Alice is so relaxing to write: you're just at ease writing Alice because her personality isn't particularly complicated and she can display so many emotions in response to other people; I love Alice. I also like how mean-spirited everyone is: Sakuya and Alice were bickering, but then they get together to recall Reimu losing to Miko once in Touhou 13.5 (Futo's part proves that Reimu lost against Miko) even though Reimu also won against her another time XD Alice does like to do these kinds of things to Reimu (dat feel when Touhou 7). They talk about getting back at Aya, and you'd think they actually can't according to this chapter, but they can beat Aya. Everyone beats each other in Touhou, so they will actually beat Aya by themselves the next time they see her. Oh, and Aya is so standoffish, hahaha. Dat Tengu pride is strong.

Oh man, dat feel when Marisa realizes how much she sucks as a detective. Miko is like, the actual detective in this series and it makes me laugh; now I wanna see Miko in a detective outfit (you know what outfit I'm talking about) SOOO badly XD Miko immediately thinks of investigating the Hakurei Shrine to see if there are any leads towards Reimu's absence, and while Marisa just sort of tells Shinmyoumaru that Reimu's missing and only gets out that Reimu left the shrine from her, Miko straight up wants to interrogate her for any and all clues to Reimu's whereabouts, it's just beautiful. That feel when Miko's surprised like "holy shit you had a witness all along?!" XD I just feel bad for Futo who not only didn't get to say goodbye to Miko, but also doesn't get any information on who the hell everyone wants to consult about the Bamboo Forest of the Lost (hahaha she was cheering on the fight XD). Ironically, a lot of people end up going there in the games, but it seems the place is like, literally cursed to make you lost so I imagine everyone just miraculously gets saved. In Touhou 14.5, Mokou just led you out and the same happened in Touhou 9 with Tewi, so maybe that's what usually happens. Either way, Sakuya thought it was too troublesome to ever go to that place and the party's planning on having someone else do it! Who would that be...? ;D

Anyway, I do love cutting into the middle of the show instead of right when it starts. It's just great making you figure out that Reimu's acting right now and you're right in the show because yes. I don't want to bore you with scenes about Reimu (barely) memorizing scripts ^^' I comment a lot on Reimu's character, but it's just because I feel as though Reimu can't relate with her at all, and that's more or less the point of poking fun at the character to begin with. In a way, when you think about it, Mettaton says a lot of satirical stuff in the middle of his shows: I know that's the joke, you know, making fun of television and entertainment, but doesn't that somewhat give people leeway into thinking that perhaps Mettaton himself is into writing meta shows (badum-tss?)? Even putting that aside, the propaganda is strong. And even still, Mettaton is astoundingly hard to write. Also, Alphys hasn't been showing up a lot because the times where she is actually doing something is usually when Reimu is away; those are mostly the times when Alphys is prominently speaking to Mettaton. She'll appear more, though, don't worry.

But still, ugh, Mettaton. Muffet was nice, but Mettaton gives me constant insecurity. If Mettaton were easier to write, I'm sure I'd be more confident about this Hotland section, but I'm not because Mettaton is so difficult to nail! Maybe I'm just overthinking it. There's just something about the way Mettaton speaks that leaves me unable to know how exactly his nuances work. Besides, the fact that he's a rectangle doesn't give me much freedom when it comes to descriptions. It's ironic that the entertainment robot ends up being the character that's hardest to write ^^' Anyway, the fights are more there to make Mettaton look good than anything, so you won't see actual fighting between these two. Besides, even if you want bloodshed, monsters don't have blood so the irony in Mettaton's words is great... So, Mettaton's lines are propaganda and Reimu's character is built around advertising Mettaton's greatness. It's beautiful like that. Reimu is trying to get into this acting thing, but it's difficult! She seems like the kind of person who'd suck at acting, but could pull it off if she practiced it enough, though Reimu doesn't really put any effort into stuff like that; she barely even trains her own powers.

Whatever the case, look forward to the last part of Hotland? To be honest, this last part will mess up the order of my Touhou scenes a bit, but I think I can manage.


	12. Chapter 12

**First Words:**

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 **b-wolf95 - You got an account, but I never did respond to this review and since it's a guest review, I might as well do it here. Anyway, those are some interesting theories! Maybe they're right, and maybe they aren't. We'll really only know when we get to the ending. It might take a while, but we'll get there!**

 **James Birdsong - Yay! Hopefully you'll be around for this chapter and the next ones! And enjoy them, too, of course.**

 **Guest - Right now ;D But really, I couldn't give you any response because you're a guest, so I got pretty sad in the midst of my delay. I told other reviewers I'd get this out by February, but I didn't make it, so now I feel even worse ;_; Either way, you've got it now! Hopefully it was worth the wait!**

 **Fireiy - You're a registered user, but you disabled PMs, so I figured I should be responding here. But then again, maybe you don't want a response to begin with...? I don't know, but all I have to say about that is that omg I'm so sorry, agh...! It didn't make it! I forgot about it and damn it, I missed the chance! I missed it even though another reviewer suggested it and it was an interesting idea, ugh! I really hope you can enjoy this chapter regardless, and thank you for reviewing, following, and putting the story in your favorites.**

I've gotten to a point where counting all these favorites and followers is getting really difficult ^^' Since the last chapter, this story has gotten 22 favorites and 24 followers, to which I'm still grateful for. Besides, omg, this story's got over 200 followers now, how did this happen? I sure hope it's worth it, especially under my delays. This time around, I got busy and didn't find much time to write, but I'm intent on finishing this story so sooner or later, you'll see its end. We're about 4 chapters away from it!

Regardless, enjoy!

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 **Chapter 12: The Crumbling Hotland Broadcast**

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Bright lights, a dazzling floor and walls... And an awkwardly placed statue of Mettaton serving as a fountain that gushed water to that very same dazzling floor next to it are what Reimu immediately saw when she neutrally entered the resort. For a moment, she stares at that blankly as she mentally remarks on the uselessness and inefficiency of the fountain.

Reimu is currently on her allotted break, along with the entire crew behind the show, including Mettaton himself: according to him, it's 'part of the necessary procedures'. As far as she knows, she is close to the end of the show at the moment. At least, according to her faint memories regarding the script, arriving at the MMT Resort means that she is close to the Core, where she will be travelling towards and reach the final room where she will defeat Mettaton. Overall, the show hasn't been a particularly long endeavor, but, in Reimu's mind, it's something she could've done without. Besides, for now, she has something she can busy herself with, for better or worse. "HUMAN? HUMAN, ARE YOU STILL THERE?"

Reimu shows herself absent-mindedly smiling as she hears Papyrus from the phone she has leaning on her ear. "Oh yeah, I was talking to you," Reimu casually utters as though this genuine realization were unimportant. She glances at the strange, colorful star-like monster to her right, but it merely smiles at her, having noticed she is currently on the phone. Reimu raises an eyebrow, skeptic of the strangely understanding behavior, before shrugging and continuing forward into the strange resort. To begin with, Reimu has no knowledge of what a 'resort' is supposed to be. From what she heard from Mettaton the last time she talked to him, it's something similar to an inn.

"HOW CAN YOU EVEN FORGET THAT?!" Papyrus incredulously questions, seemingly angry. However, said anger dissipates as Papyrus thinks of every possibility that justifies Reimu's behavior; Reimu herself is simply unfazed by his emotions. "THIS IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS YOU'RE TALKING TO NOW! DO YOU AT LEAST REMEMBER THAT?!" As Papyrus's voice takes on a more desperate-sounding tone, Reimu distances her phone from her ear ever so slightly. "HAVE YOU EVEN FORGOTTEN ALL OF OUR GREAT TIMES TOGETHER, HUMAN?! DO YOU STILL RECOGNIZE THE LEG WARMERS YOU'RE WEARING?!"

"Why would I have lost all my memories just from spacing out a bit?" Reimu retorted with an uneasy smile, "Besides, great times together? We had those?" Reimu's smile contorts into a frown born from sheer confusion while she struggled to remind herself of memories with Papyrus she considers 'great'.

"SO YOU DID LOSE YOUR MEMORIES!" Papyrus exclaims as though he has concluded something of tremendous urgency. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE YOUR BREAK BEGAN AND I HADN'T CALLED? DID YOU TRIP OVER SOMETHING? YOU AREN'T HURT, RIGHT?! TO THINK YOU WOULD WIN AGAINST UNDYNE, METTATON AND EVEN ME, BUT NOT AGAINST A SMALL ROCK ON YOUR PATH!" Reimu stops near a somewhat tall, red monster standing behind a counter, but the way she then leans her back against the wall makes it clear she currently has no business with said receptionist. "THAT MUST HAVE BEEN A VERY TENACIOUS ROCK! IT MUST HAVE BEEN FED THE ULTIMATE SPRINKLES!"

Reimu stares at the space in front of her, one she had just taken in when she entered. To her left is a gathering of different creatures surrounding what she can recognize as an elevator. Reimu narrows her eyes as she observes them talking to each other in varying degrees of anger and hopelessness. "Hey, Papyrus," Reimu casually says, ignoring whatever he told her because she zoned out of it. Since she zoned out of the conversation to begin with, Reimu assumes that Papyrus just sputtered nonsense. "I heard this from a ghost, but is it true that there's an elevator that leads straight to your capital in the MTT Resort?"

"ARE YOUR MEMORIES COMING BACK TO YOU ALREADY?!"

"Just answer the question."

"IT MUST'VE BEEN BECAUSE YOU WERE IN THE PRESENCE OF MY GREAT VOICE!" Regardless of Reimu's statement, Papyrus continues what he wanted to say before actually focusing on Reimu's query, which he is equally eager to respond to. "IN ANY CASE, THAT GHOST WAS TELLING YOU THE TRUTH, HUMAN. THE MTT RESORT CAN LEAD YOU TO THE CAPITAL BY ELEVATOR AND TO THE CORE BY A STRAIGHTFORWARD PATH! IT'S A VERY CONVENIENT PLACE!"

Reimu hums in understanding while still looking towards the monsters near the elevator, nodding to herself as she does so. "But by the looks of it, the elevator's broken right now. This elevator isn't the only way you can get to the king's castle, right?" Reimu ponders on Mettaton and Alphys, who supposedly know how Reimu can cross the barrier. Is crossing the barrier unrelated to the king's castle entirely? If the king is involved, how are they planning on taking her there? Such questions filled her mind as she faintly hears the monsters near the elevator discussing their situation with each other.

"OF COURSE NOT!" Papyrus confidently responds. "THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO GET TO THE KING'S CASTLE! IF YOU'RE IN HOTLAND, THE FASTEST WAY TO REACH IT IS THROUGH THE ELEVATOR IN THE RESORT AND GOING THROUGH THE CAPITAL, BUT YOU CAN ALSO GO THROUGH THE CORE INSTEAD! IT HAS AN ELEVATOR STRAIGHT TO THE CASTLE!"

"Oh, that's useful," Reimu remarks before shifting her focus to a path to her left. When she detaches herself from the wall she was leaning on and takes a few steps towards this path's direction, she finds 'CORE' written above the entrance without a trace of subtlety. As a path to the king's castle of all places, it seems rather exposed and public, Reimu notes. "Are you sure this leads you straight to the castle?"

"OF COURSE, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD NEVER LIE TO YOU ABOUT THIS!" Papyrus insistently claims as though to make sure Reimu would be devoid of suspicion in regards to his information. However, Reimu's doubts actually lie not on whether Papyrus is trying to trick her or not, but on whether the path is common knowledge disclosed to the general populace of the Underground that proves itself untrue (spread for unknown reasons). Papyrus has certainly been proved wrong, despite his good intentions; this could be another example of such instances. "IF YOU GO THROUGH THE CORE, YOU ARE GUARANTEED TO REACH THE KING'S CASTLE!"

Reimu stares at the blue area beyond the Core's entrance intently: what she can see of the ground and walls is unlike anything she's witnessed in the Underground. Strange wires of a color lighter than that of the walls and floor's metallic, dark blue course through them without signs of obstruction, as though they have been merely painted on. By taking about two steps forward, Reimu barely sees something akin to silver, metal doors, which make Reimu wonder where exactly they lead. "What's this Core place about anyway? What is it for?"

"THE CORE IS A VERY IMPORTANT FACILITY! IT GIVES THE UNDERGROUND ALL THE ELECTRICAL ENERGY WE REQUIRE IN OUR DAILY LIVES!" Papyrus explains in a way Reimu finds simple and straightforward, but vague nonetheless. How is it that the Core produces energy? Electrical energy is a more or less foreign concept for Reimu to begin with. However, she doesn't particularly care for an explanation of something like electrical energy, which, at the moment, serves her no purpose, so she decides not to insist on a detailed answer she does not need.

"Huh... I wouldn't think that has much to do with the show's ending, so maybe I'm being led to the other elevator towards the king's castle," Reimu deducts out loud so as to organize her own thought process. Then, she smiles in a determined manner. "I knew crossing the barrier had something to do with the king's castle! The place I'll lose against Mettaton is probably the closest to the elevator."

"HUMAN! DON'T SPOIL THE SHOW! I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT EPIC CLIMAX!" Papyrus complains in a clearly saddened, but equally frustrated manner. Reimu would've simply been confused if he hadn't been so ear-piercingly loud while she is speaking on the phone leaning precisely on her ear. However, since that was not the case, Reimu finds herself somewhat irritated.

"Mettaton's the protagonist; of course he'd win in the end," Reimu sharply retorted. "Aren't I obviously the villain here, in the whole show's perspective? The villains always lose in the end, or there would be no justice." _Not that any justice is actually being served here._ However, her point still stands in context with the show, where Reimu is clearly the villain.

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN THE VILLAIN HAS NO CHANCES OF WINNING!" Papyrus argues with an intensity likened to topics of great importance, which Reimu is already finding somewhat unworthy of her time. Even so, she does happen to be bored and without anything to do for her break. If anything, she is still talking to Papyrus precisely because of this (though Papyrus was the one that called her to begin with). "AFTER ALL, A STORY DOESN'T HAVE TO SOLELY BE ABOUT JUSTICE! SO, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO INVOLVE THE PROTAGONIST WINNING! YOU KNOW THIS IS TRUE, HUMAN!"

Reimu shrugs, but Papyrus naturally has no way of seeing this action. "Sure, but who likes stories where the characters don't get to the bottom of things?" Reimu asks, though she isn't very invested in the topic or argument in general. "It'd just frustrate me if I saw the protagonist dying without anything coming out of it. The protagonist can't just die like that. What would they be good for if they just died? There's always got to be justice somewhere."

"WELL, I ALSO LIKE STORIES WITH JUSTICE," Papyrus states, "BUT I CAN'T ENJOY THEM IF YOU SPOIL THE ENDING!" Reimu could feel the greater intensity in the last part of the sentence, as though what he said truly is a big deal to Papyrus. "DON'T YOU LIKE BEING AT THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT, WONDERING WHETHER THE PROTAGONIST IS TRULY GOING TO WIN?"

"I already know that the protagonist is going to win, so I just want to know how they beat the villain. That's always the most important part." Regardless of her own opinions, however, Reimu is starting to feel annoyed at the overall discussion, as it's a waste of time that isn't managing to entertain her while on break. In truth, she wants to do something productive, but she doesn't know what exactly that would be. She scowls as she further thinks of the uselessness of the discussion. "It's not even like I revealed anything important about the show, so you have no reason to stop enjoying it in the first place! Besides, there's barely anything to enjoy from this, since it's all propaganda for Mettaton! You're the weird one for being so bothered over a detail everyone already knows!"

"FOR YOUR INFORMATION, IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT DETAIL! AND IF NOT EVEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, KNEW FOR CERTAIN WHETHER IT HELD TRUE FOR THIS SHOW OR NOT, YOU'VE CLEARLY GIVEN ME SPOILERS FOR ITS CLIMAX THAT I CAN NEVER GET BACK!" Papyrus fiercely protests, as though speaking of a dear one who had passed away. "IN FACT, HUMAN, YOU'RE THE WEIRD ONE FOR BEING SO UNCARING OF THESE THINGS! PERHAPS IF I HAD BEEN ABLE TO GIVE YOU THAT EXTENSIVE PRESENTATION ON UNDERGROUND COMMON SENSE, YOU'D BE THOROUGHLY EDUCATED ON THE ART OF SAYING NO SPOILERS WHATSOEVER! JUST YOU WAIT, HUMAN, WHEN I FIND THAT MEDDLING DOG ONCE AGAIN, I'LL MAKE SURE TO RETRIEVE THE..."

Reimu hears a voice, though it isn't coming from the monsters near the elevator to the capital. It was a cheery voice; a welcoming voice. "Hotland's biggest apartment-building- turned-hotel! Whether you're here for..." Reimu turns around so as to see what exactly is originating this dialogue from the resort's entrance. At that part of the building, she had only seen one monster: the one smiling at her. She can safely assume it's the one presently talking, but Reimu can't help but wonder who it's speaking to. "Hm?" However, the only thing Reimu is able to see in a mere split second is a flash of yellow. To Reimu, it's a very familiar color to watch out for. The monster at the entrance is looking towards the floor, thoroughly confused. Reimu narrows her eyes as she rushes towards the monster.

"HUMAN? ARE YOU NOT LISTENING AGAIN? IS YOUR MEMORY LOSS RETURNING?!"

Reimu grimaces at the loud voice right next to her ear. While the worry is well-intentioned, it's needless at the moment. "Unless you've got any information about a meddlesome flower youkai in this place, I'm going to hang up on you. I've just gotten something to busy myself with." _If I'm on a break, I might as well spend it figuring out why I'm being stalked by some flower._ Determined, Reimu looks towards the monster, who notices her immediately.

"WELL, HUMAN! YOU'RE IN LUCK!" Papyrus proudly exclaims, which has Reimu immediately shift her attention to his words. She didn't initially think Papyrus would be helpful, but he implies otherwise, and she doesn't feel as though he will waste her time. She turns around from the monster, whose confusion further grows; however, they at least know she doesn't want to talk to them anymore. "I JUST HAPPEN TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"You do? You sure are being useful for once," Reimu remarks with an easygoing, somewhat weak smile.

"BUT I AM ALWAYS USEFUL! OTHERWISE, I WOULDN'T BE THE GREAT ASPIRING MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD THAT I AM!"

"Can you tell me about the flower, then?" Reimu immediately asks, her voice still somewhat casual. "I've been wondering about him for a while."

"IT'S ACTUALLY SHOCKING THAT YOU'VE MET HIM ALREADY! EVERY TIME I TRY TO SHOW MY FLOWERY FRIEND TO ANYBODY, HE IMMEDIATELY DISAPPEARS FOR SOME REASON. MAYBE HE'S SHY?" _Friend?_ Reimu processes the thought of Flowey being friends with anyone. Judging by how he had acted when she first met him, he perhaps isn't being his true self around Papyrus. Since his words justify this further, Reimu concludes there is something rather fishy about a random friendship between Flowey and Papyrus, but she isn't yet sure of what it entails. "STILL, IT'S BECAUSE OF IT THAT I HAVE TO CONSTANTLY TELL UNDYNE THAT HE'S NOT MY IMAGINARY FRIEND AND IT TROUBLES ME TO NO END! AT LEAST I'VE FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES HE'S REAL!"

"I've seen him myself, after all," Reimu says as she faces the path to the Core again. "Do you have any idea why he's been following me?"

"HE'S BEEN FOLLOWING YOU?" Papyrus questions, seemingly incredulous over this information. "HE HASN'T VISITED LATELY, BUT I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD BE BECAUSE HE WAS FOLLOWING YOU, HUMAN! I WONDER WHY HE WOULD DO SUCH A THING... HMMMMMM..." While Papyrus is deep in thought, Reimu is concluding that she will perhaps be unable to actually yield more information on Flowey from Papyrus, which is slightly upsetting to her. "MAYBE HE'S ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT YOU! YOU'RE A HUMAN, AFTER ALL. YOU CAN'T SIMPLY FIND HUMANS IN THE UNDERGROUND! YOU'RE VERY RARE HERE!"

 _He said something about waiting... Maybe I'm supposed to do something for him unknowingly. I've got a bad feeling about this..._ "Well, either way, I'll keep watching out for him. It's not like he's all that well-known if you have to convince other monsters he's real, so I won't be able to get much more information from anyone but you."

"OF COURSE! ONLY I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ENOUGH TO TELL YOU OF EVERYTHING IN THE UNDERGROUND YOU NEED TO KNOW, NO MATTER HOW OBSCURE!"

"But, now that that's more or less settled, I think I'm going to look through this place a bit before heading out to the Core." Reimu glances to her right with a grimace, conveying her negativity only to those that could see her (who certainly are not Papyrus). "Besides, my arm's starting to hurt from holding this phone thing." Reimu then smiles, seemingly energetic. "So there's no better time than now to exercise it on some troublemakers. I can't just let myself get out of shape, after all."

"WOWIE, HUMAN! YOU ALMOST SOUND LIKE UNDYNE!" Papyrus comments, somewhat marveled by the similarity he found.

Meanwhile, Reimu remains easygoing. "Do I? If I do, I don't really care since it's not like I'm copying her or anything." Reimu shrugs. "Anyway, goodbye." She removes the phone from its position directly next to her right ear, but takes little time to end he call as she only faintly hears Papyrus's farewell. She doesn't pay that any mind and simply stuffs her phone back inside her bag as she decides to move towards the left. _Though, if that flower's been following me, didn't he just hear the whole conversation? But then again, when he got found out, it did look like he left like he always does. It's impossible to know exactly where he is._ Finding that troublesome, Reimu shakes the thought away from her mind while taking in the many tables she can see at a distance. They are all placed in a considerably dark room, and decorated neatly. She can see a few monsters sat down, talking to each other in a casual manner, but the area mostly feels strangely vacant; Reimu wonders if that's just the nature of the room.

 _That's not very inviting._ Unable to see the appeal of it, she walks inside at a rather slow pace, only to spot a monster she finds suspicious. Its body is bright orange in color, and it stands out within the somber, graceful environment without question. The monster is near a potted plant, grabbing on to a few of its leaves. Her mood brightened, her walking pace becomes considerably faster as she wears a convicted, though remarkably easygoing expression on her face. "Hey," Reimu calls out to the monster, who flinches immediately. _There's definitely something going on with this youkai!_ Reimu wonders what sort of youkai this orange monster happens to be. It's a seemingly humanoid creature, barring the fact that it's bright orange and lacking in various nuances of the human body. What sort of mind imagined a youkai of this sort, and for what purpose? "What are you doing with that plant?"

"W-well..." The monster hesitates under Reimu's expectant gaze; it wonders if she's part of the resort's staff. However, it also finds her voice familiar for reasons it can't quite discern. "I was going to eat at this restaurant, but I forgot to make a reservation so now I'm just... eating this ficus," the monster awkwardly explains while attempting to avoid Reimu's intimidating gaze and considering where he heard her voice before.

Reimu hums pensively, though in a skeptic manner which hardly relieves any of the stress she caused by her appearance and clearly intent-filled curiosity. "That's all? Are you sure you can even eat that plant?" Reimu crosses her arms, but her gaze remains extremely expectant, seeing as she is looking for the slightest of reasons to attack the monster (unbeknownst to it).

"I probably have to make a reservation for it, knowing this place..." the monster responds, unmotivated when it comes to thinking about anything related to reservations. However, that makes the monster realize that it perhaps is committing some form of crime unknowingly.

"So, technically, you shouldn't be eating that plant at all," Reimu states, similarly deducting that from the monster's words. "The idea of reservations for a place this empty sounds really silly if you ask me, but you're still doing something you shouldn't. Which means you should be taking responsibility somehow."

... The monster begins looking undoubtedly uneasy, and still unable to discern where he's heard Reimu's voice before seeing her. "Do... Do I really have to?" Reimu takes a few moments to think about this. "I guess I have to... I mean, it's my fault for forgetting to make a reservation anyway, and I just wanted not to look awkward... But in the end, I was doing something bad without even noticing it. Which is even more awkward." Unbeknownst to the monster, amidst her thoughts, Reimu didn't hear anything he said after the first question.

"You confessed so easily, and it's not like what you're even doing is a big deal..." Reimu mutters in a strangely bitter manner in the monster's perspective. Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? "If you're not really being troublesome, how am I supposed to get motivated?" Reimu stretches her arms. "If you're causing trouble, you might as well go all out so people'll want to exterminate you. Well, since you know what you did wrong anyway, I guess you might as well apologize or something. As far as I'm concerned, this isn't really my field of work." With that, Reimu turns around and walks away while casually waving at the monster, remarking on how much her motivation to catch troublemakers dissipated so fast, mostly due to the lack of actual troublemakers. In general, Reimu just feels like exterminating enemies that cause incidents, which she will likely not find in the Underground so easily, especially at a resort.

Meanwhile, the orange monster finds itself incredulous and overall in awe of all that it heard from Reimu. At the same time, he starts remembering where he heard Reimu's voice from; he looks towards the tiny TV in the restaurant. Now, it's airing commercials for the break that occurred. However, before that, a show had been airing: it's a show about Mettaton pursuing a human who seemed to not only seek a rematch with him out of lost pride, but is also riddled by a troubled past on the surface that justifies her cruel actions. The voice of this human is remarkably similar to that of the person that is just now leaving the restaurant and approaching the fountain. Shocked at the association and the clear difference in personality from its conversation with her and how she acted in the show, the orange monster remained in place, processing the conversation he just had with a potential (depending on how true Mettaton's show is) human. Overall, while strange, she ultimately pointed out its wrongdoings while nobody else had approached, and made it realize the need to take responsibility even for such tiny mistakes. Perhaps, in a way, she isn't as bad as the show made her out to be.

Reimu, on the other hand, has already stopped giving any thought to the monster she interacted with as she verifies that the path to the right of the resort's entrance probably leads to the rooms one can stay at, which is nothing particularly interesting. Besides, she sees no point to breaking into these rooms. As such, she finds herself with only two paths left to explore: the one to the Core, and a set of glass doors. Above the set of glass doors is written 'MTT', which is representative of Mettaton, but Reimu can't see the relation between Mettaton and the exact room, especially when next to the letters is a hamburger, similar to the one she ate with Sans in Snowdin. From what she can see through the glass, it's a similar establishment to Grillby's, except it's decorated in a neat, shiny manner; its mood is welcoming overall, which Reimu can understand. However, seeing as Reimu doesn't have any business with an establishment such as that (especially since she has no money) and that it doesn't lead to any new location Reimu should be aware of, Reimu decides to pay the area no mind.

... Before she sees a familiar monster waving at her from inside, that is. Confused, Reimu stares at the monster intently in an attempt to remember where she has seen him before. _If he's waving at me, it's got to be because I did something for him..._

 _But who is he again?_ Reimu smiles awkwardly as she continues trying to remember the monster. His bunny-like features strike Reimu as familiar from Snowdin, but she met more than one bunny-like monster: which one is the one presently smiling at her cheerfully? There is only one way to find out, Reimu concluded.

With a slight frown, Reimu walks inside the food establishment. A cat-like monster, whose fake smile is more than obvious to Reimu, is behind the counter, speaking to what Reimu assumes to be a customer. Off to the side, however, is the familiar monster that waved at her. He is near a familiar cart, painted in wildly different colors from what Reimu (faintly) remembers. To begin with, 'MTT' is written in pink, with sparkles covering the ink in a very attention-garnering design. In a slightly less obnoxious fashion, 'The MTT-Brand New Nice Cream! Now in 24 different fantabulous flavors!' is written below, in a more elegant black hue. The overall color of the cart currently matches the establishment to an almost eerie degree.

It then dawned on Reimu. "Oh, you're the Nice Cream youkai," she says as she approaches the monster. If not for that fact that Sans gave her Nice Cream, Reimu would have never remembered the monster again, surely. "What happened to your business?" It isn't as though Reimu is worried; she is simply curious after reminding herself of the last time she talked to the monster. As far as she recalls, Reimu told the monster to relocate his business so as to more or less guarantee the success of Nice Cream. However, a strange turn of events has definitely occurred.

"Hi, Reimu! It's great seeing you again! I'm sure you've noticed by the cart, but after following your advice, I came all the way over to Hotland to sell Nice Cream," the monster responds, seemingly in a good mood, especially in comparison to the last time he spotted Reimu and spoke to her. "Near the lab doesn't get much traffic, so I decided it'd be better if I sold them right next to another food stand because the customers would already be there." _Uh-huh..._ "But, while I was going to the hotdog stand, Mettaton happened to pass by! When I talked to him about my Nice Cream and showed it to him, he said it had potential under his brand, so we made a deal. Nice Cream is all Mettaton's now! He can create new flavors, take care of the advertising, change their shape, take complete credit for all my original ideas... Meanwhile, I just have to sell it here! It's definitely marked a brand new era for Nice Cream! It can only evolve from there!"

"Huh..." Reimu takes in everything the monster told her. According to him, he gave up all the rights for his own icy treat, which will now be financed, advertised and possibly completely changed by Mettaton to fit his own needs, essentially creating something far different from Nice Cream. Somehow, the monster was fine with that and didn't try to keep even a small percentage of control over his own product. As such, Reimu concludes, Mettaton swiftly crushed a rival by taking him under his figurative wing. Reimu's expression turns deathly serious. "He's good..." She then looks towards the monster in front of her blankly while smiling. _Or rather,_ he's _just an idiot..._

"Exactly!" However, thinking Reimu means something different, the monster finds himself agreeing with her stance. "Burgy said I had his condolences, but I knew you'd agree with my choice! It's what was best for my Nice Cream! It's sure to get much more customers now!" Still, a skeptical frown is plastered on Reimu's face. _Well, it's not like he's unsatisfied, and Mettaton probably would be better at selling these things than he'd be..._

"That much is true, I guess," Reimu musters a response with a somewhat uneasy smile. _This isn't any of my business anyway. Besides, you reap what you sow in this case. I did what I could._

"Hey," a voice calls out in a notably awkward, strained manner. Looking towards its source, Reimu finds that the cat-like monster by the counter is the one behind this. The bunny-like monster follows Reimu's gaze, only for both to find that the cat-like monster is definitely not trying to speak to Reimu, but with the monster selling Nice Cream. "Remember the rules?" The cat-like monster doesn't specify any further, as though it wouldn't be appropriate to do so. Reimu looks back at the bunny-like monster, who seems momentarily confused.

"The rules?" However, it doesn't take him long to supposedly remember something through the other monster's words. "Oh, the rules!" The monster apologetically smiles as he scratches his head, filled with blue fur. "I'm still new here, so I haven't gotten the hang of this place yet. Anyway, sorry about this, but you can only talk to me if you buy something. So, how about a Nice Cream? It's the icy treat that melts your heart (TM)! The slogan's a work in progress for now. It's only for 45G!" Even that has already been subjected to change, though Reimu doesn't particularly notice this (nor the fact that the price has been considerably raised). Instead, her focus is on the fact that she has no money on her, let alone any intentions of spending it on buying Nice Cream.

Reimu grimaces. "I still don't have any money to buy your Nice Cream, so it looks like our conversation is over." The cheeriness of the monster's expression visibly fades due to Reimu's words, but Reimu simply turns around and starts walking away. "Good luck with your business." _If you're even actually running one now._ She lightly waves a him from behind before attempting to push the glass doors forward. However, they strangely don't budge. "Huh...?" Reimu tries again. The result is the same: the doors remain in place. _But I was able to open them before..._

Then, Reimu lays her eyes on a sign glued to the door. 'PULL' is faintly written on it in an overly neat and elegant font. Sighing, Reimu pulls one of the doors and leaves the establishment for good. Reimu doesn't glance back at it, but the monster is sadly looking on as Reimu continues walking. He hadn't meant sour their relationship... Whatever it actually happened to be. _How much longer is this break going to last?_ She only has the path to the Core to go through, seeing as she has seen all the resort has to offer. She can see the benefits of getting to know the Core's layout beforehand, but she also wouldn't like to get lost there if there's a chance of that happening. However, she has no idea of how large the Core is, or of how many paths it holds.

"HELLO, DARLING." Reimu turns to her right. Next to his own fountain is Mettaton, who is waving at her. "ENJOYING THE RESORT? UNFORTUNATELY, YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO STAY HERE FOR AS LONG AS YOU WANT. WE STILL HAVE A SHOW TO FINISH, DON'T WE? AFTER THIS, WE'LL BE HEADING STRAIGHT FOR THE CLIMAX!"

"You sound excited," Reimu states, as though this is a matter so foreign that it needs acknowledgement. While Mettaton doesn't have expressions Reimu can perceive, at least his words give away how exactly he seems to feel. Ironically, the most apathetic one in the conversation is Reimu, and not Mettaton.

"I SOUND PERFECTLY NORMAL. YOU, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE CLEARLY NOT EXCITED ENOUGH FOR WHAT'S ABOUT TO COME. SPEAKING OF THAT, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE SCRIPT MULTIPLE TIMES ALREADY BUT YOU STILL SOUND WOODEN, DARLING!" Mettaton remarks in a manner far from stern, but similarly far from lighthearted as well. "AT LEAST YOU'RE ENTERTAINING THE AUDIENCE, BUT I CAN'T SAY I APPROVE OF YOUR ACTING SKILLS. NO MATTER WHAT THE ROLE, YOU'RE ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO SOUND CONVINCING. YOU HAVE TO BECOME THE CHARACTER, DARLING!"

"Well, what if I don't want to become the character?" Reimu defiantly asks, expecting a negative reaction from Mettaton but not really caring about that in general.

"WOULDN'T THAT SUCK FOR YOU?" His hand gestures represent a shrug, as though Mettaton weren't at all troubled by Reimu. He knows, Reimu noted; he knows she was expecting him to be annoyed. Since it was rather obvious, however, Reimu isn't that impressed. Even then, the fact that he so effortlessly deflated Reimu sours her mood. "AFTER ALL, YOU AGREED TO BE PART OF MY SHOW. I DIDN'T FORCE YOU INTO ANYTHING YOU DIDN'T WANT." Mettaton points towards her. "YOU DID."

Reimu grimaces. _Good point._ "But that was because you wouldn't tell me how to cross the barrier otherwise! So you basically blackmailed me!" Reimu protested, only finding the need to point out the supposed injustice of her situation because Mettaton's charisma is slightly pissing her off. If he hadn't been that good at subsiding Reimu's statements, she figures, she wouldn't have felt this way in the slightest (probably).

"AND YOU LET YOURSELF BE BLACKMAILED," Mettaton confidently retorts, still without any signs of being angry or irritated by Reimu. "YOU'RE MORE MERCIFUL THAN YOU MAKE YOURSELF OUT TO BE, DARLING." While Reimu was going to lash out at Mettaton with some sort of protest again, she finds her own irritation cut off by Mettaton's words. Instead, Reimu looks at Mettaton in a mix of slight awe and confusion, while her gaze is expectant. "IF YOU WANTED TO, YOU COULD'VE TAKEN US ALL DOWN, COULDN'T YOU? YOU'RE STRONG. IF I'M GOING TO BE HONEST, I WAS PLANNING ON ACTUALLY TAKING YOUR SOUL BEFORE YOU DEFEATED ME ON THE QUIZ SHOW. BUT WHEN YOU DID, I HAD TO CONCEDE. NOT JUST ANYONE CAN BREAK THROUGH THIS BODY OF MINE AS EASILY AS YOU DID. THERE'S SIMPLY NO WAY I CAN TAKE YOU DOWN MYSELF." Mettaton shrugs, as if referring to an inevitable truth. "I ENDED UP CANCELLING MY PLANS FOR YOUR SOUL, BUT I HAVEN'T GIVEN UP ON MY DREAMS JUST YET. " Reimu narrows her eyes, as though to gauge Mettaton's current intentions. Even with a mere metallic box, Reimu's intuition is still effective.

"... You're not just a robot, are you? You're some kind of youkai, like everyone around you." Reimu isn't even looking for any clarification on the matter. If she has stated it, she has confirmed, in her mind, that Mettaton truly is more than a machine. However, she wants to hear his response.

"I CAN'T SAY YOU'RE RIGHT, DARLING. AFTER ALL, EVERYONE AROUND ME IS A MONSTER AND NOTHING ELSE. WELL, EXCEPT FOR YOU, OF COURSE," Mettaton says, "BUT WE BOTH KNOW YOU'RE A SPECIAL CASE ALREADY." Reimu tiredly frowns. At this point, she has lost the motivation to discuss the fact that these monsters are all youkai to her and that Mettaton is the ignorant one. _Geez, what kind of youkai denies its own identity? That's the core of its existence._ "AT LEAST, I CAN TELL YOU THAT I REALLY AM NOT 'JUST A ROBOT'. I'M CLEARLY MUCH MORE THAN THAT! I'M THE ONE AND ONLY SUPER STAR OF THE UNDERGROUND, METTATON! AND EVENTUALLY, EVEN THE SURFACE WILL KNOW MY NAME!"

"Do you even know how to break the barrier? That's not going to happen if you don't, you know." Reimu crosses her arms, seemingly nonchalant. She could tell Mettaton spoke of something he feels for at a truthful level, which makes her conclude he most likely dreams of being famous all around the world, even on the surface. What she feels about this, Reimu herself notes, is completely unimportant. However, a reality check is always in order.

Mettaton doesn't immediately answer, but it isn't because he doesn't know what to say. Rather, he is taking in Reimu's expression. "THEN," he utters, "WHAT ABOUT YOU, DARLING?" However, Reimu's expression is of an unreadable neutrality. Lacking in ill will and goodwill alike, Reimu's gaze reflects nothing more than what is presently there: Mettaton, and his surroundings.

At least, through his question, Reimu displays clear confusion in her features. "Me? What about me, really?" She smiles in spite of this confusion, revealing her overall easygoing stance towards the conversation. Even then, one can never know.

"YOU'RE GOING TO LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND, RIGHT? OTHERWISE, YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE." While Mettaton is giving his response, Reimu remains without a clue into his motivations. At the moment, he had merely exposed obvious facts. "BUT WILL THAT BE ALL, DARLING? WILL YOU SIMPLY PRETEND WE NEVER EXISTED AFTERWARDS? WON'T YOU THINK OF THE UNDERGROUND FOR EVEN A SECOND OF YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU GET HOME? YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE THAT KIND OF PERSON TO ME."

Reimu's frown deepens; she narrows her eyes. She has to take a few moments to process his words and come up with an answer. In fact, this is the first time she puts thought into what she will do once she returns to Gensokyo. Where even is the Underground? Is the Underground even in Gensokyo? How can one even go back and forth between both locations? If anything, how did she end up here to begin with? However, Mettaton's questions aren't about herself. They're about everyone in this foreign environment, and her own course of action. "Before you all, I'll focus on getting home. I have to check on my shrine, see if everything's in order, and beat up the bad guys that messed around with it while I wasn't there. Not only that, but I also have to figure out how I got here in the first place. I don't know what sort of answer you're expecting, but I can't be thinking of everybody I get involved with." Reimu looks down at the sparkling floor of the hotel, which can even reflect her neutral, if ever so slightly somber expression. She glances to the side, as though to avoid her reflection. "For what it's worth... I can get to you later. After I figure out what the deal with you is. I could make some time to take care of the barrier. But I can't make any promises."

This time, Mettaton does find himself having to think about what to say to Reimu, and remains silent for a few moments. "NOW THAT'S UNEXPECTED. YOU'D COLLECT SEVEN SOULS FOR US? I ALSO DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE THAT TYPE OF PERSON." If anything, the fact sounds rather morbid and possibly scary. What sort of person is Reimu, truly? So far, Mettaton doesn't have a solid grasp of this.

"What? Of course not. How would I even do that?" Reimu shoots him a disturbed look, as though criticizing his imagination. "Your scriptures say you need seven souls, but in the end, as long as you destroy its foundation, any barrier crumbles. Given a week or so, I could take it down. Now, though, I'd rather get home as fast as possible since—"

"NO, WAIT A SECOND," Mettaton utters, incredulous. "YOU'VE 'LOOKED THROUGH' THE BARRIER TRAPPING US UNDERGROUND?" At the words 'looked through', Mettaton imitates quotations marks with his hands. "YOU CAN BREAK IT BY YOURSELF? HUMAN SOULS EXCLUDED?!"

Reimu raises her eyebrows, as though skeptic of his reaction. "Weren't you asking me about that in the first place? You were talking about remembering you all and everything." She crosses her arms, wondering what exactly Mettaton is thinking.

"BUT THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH BREAKING THE BARRIER, DARLING! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW YOU CAN EVEN DO THAT?!" Mettaton questions, having completely lost all signs of what he had thought he knew about Reimu. She, Mettaton concludes, is a complete enigma. Most of all, however, Reimu is an enigma that can apparently destroy the barrier by herself.

"I didn't think you'd all take weird scriptures in a cave so seriously," Reimu responds, still rather casual about the ordeal. If anything, she's find it stranger that Mettaton is surprised. "But I guess that's just your common sense at work. It'd make sense for people as isolated as you." Reimu's expression becomes ever so slightly absent-minded, as though she were deep in thought.

Mettaton remains incredulous regardless of Reimu's attitude. If anything, Reimu's attitude is presently contributing to Mettaton's incredulity. "LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT," he flatly utters, "YOU CAN DESTROY THE BARRIER ON YOUR OWN, WITHOUT THE POWER OF SEVEN SOULS?"

Reimu nods. "Pretty much. And?" The casual, albeit slightly confused expression on Reimu's face only worsens the shock felt by Mettaton.

However, he makes sure it cannot be seen through. "WELL THEN, DARLING. IF YOU'RE TELLING ME THE TRUTH RIGHT NOW, LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION." Reimu's gaze becomes curious. "INSTEAD OF TRAVELLING ALL THIS WAY AND FACING ALL THESE OBSTACLES... WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST BREAK THE BARRIER AND SET YOURSELF FREE?"

Somehow, the question, though it's supposed to be an important one, doesn't faze Reimu. Her expression remains neutral, and almost no thought is given to it. "Breaking the barrier takes time, you know? I'd rather just find my way out than stick around in one room for a bunch of days. And it's not like I could just break the barrier without knowing what it was trapping in the first place." Absent-mindedly, she looks up as she puts a hand below her chin. "Besides, where would I get any food or tea? I didn't think about it before, but it'd be a problem..."

There is no falsehood to Reimu's words. In fact, it's practically impossible to see Reimu's stance as dishonest. The sheer level of innocence Reimu is conveying in regards to her response is nearly baffling, and Mettaton cannot help but stare at Reimu, still unable to decide on how exactly he should continue this conversation. Is there any more worth to insisting on the topic? Reimu is likely not to reveal anything else, and her attitude will only serve to trouble Mettaton further. Having no intentions of experiencing any more shock than he has already because of Reimu, Mettaton decides he may as well drop the topic entirely and bring a lighthearted mood back to himself (as Reimu's clearly not as heavy-hearted as Mettaton at the moment). "AND NOW THAT YOU'RE AT THE MTT RESORT," Mettaton confidently affirms, void of any traces of surprise or confusion, "YOU'VE GOT THE CHANCE TO TRY OUT THE BEST SYNTHESIZED FOOD CAN OFFER! FEELING BLUE? THAT JUST ISN'T YOUR HUE! (TM) THE BURGER SHOP IS RIGHT THERE, DARLING!" Mettaton points towards the shop Reimu had just left from, leading her to turn to it with a blank gaze. The bunny monster of the Nice Cream stand, spotting that, waves at her with a weaker smile than when he had first done so to Reimu, while she only acknowledges his presence with a very casual wave; Mettaton does not even do that. "IF YOU HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH FOOD, YOU SURELY WON'T HAVE THEM NOW!"

However, that isn't on Reimu's mind. Instead, Mettaton's words and implications behind them loom over her. Displeased and somewhat irritated, Reimu scowls. "Could you not sell anything to me? I don't have any money to spend!" she protests as though Mettaton has been asking for her money multiples times in a row, despite this being his first time. To her, all youkai blur together in her thoughts, so he might as well have done so already.

"YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY? NO WONDER YOU DIDN'T BUY ANYTHING!" _I wouldn't buy anything from here even if I had the money, honestly..._ After all, it's important to save money; Reimu is no stranger to this notion. Besides, the food she has been seeing in this place is either completely foreign to her or unappealing (or both). _Is there no bar around here, though?_ "ANYWAY, THAT'S A SHAME. I WOULD'VE WANTED YOU OF ALL PEOPLE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT FROM THIS RESORT. I BUILT IT WITH THE SURFACE IN MIND, AFTER ALL. I'VE ALWAYS WANTED A HUMAN TO EXPERIENCE IT."

Reimu crosses her arms, deep in thought. Normally, she wouldn't have pondered on the matter Mettaton brought up at all, but his words seemed serious enough for Reimu to decide to consider them. Despite the wistfulness, Reimu's demeanor doesn't change. "If you want that so badly, you could always just give it to me free of charge; I'd eat it."

"FREE OF CHARGE? THAT DOESN'T EXIST, DARLING. NOT AT MY RESORT! SO YOU'RE OUT OF LUCK." That doesn't faze Reimu to the degree Mettaton would've wanted, as Reimu's expression remains the same; she really has no need for Mettaton's food. It becomes even more unnecessary to Reimu since she happens to already possess a hotdog and a hamburger from Sans, which is more than enough, in her eyes, for food (unless she receives even more free food). "BUT..." Mettaton seems up to something, Reimu intuitively notes. "I COULD WORK SOMETHING INTO THE SCRIPT THAT WOULD TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM."

The prospect is not the slightest bit enticing to Reimu, who simply frowns his way. "So I'll have to memorize even more stuff?" Reimu dejectedly questions.

"YOU DIDN'T MEMORIZE MOST OF THE SCRIPT ANYWAY," Mettaton immediately counters in an almost dismissive manner. "A FEW CHANGES WOULDN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR YOU."

Reimu looks back at her overall performance in the show... And finds herself looking to the side, troubled. "Good point. I suppose you can do whatever, then." Reimu shrugs while bitterly smiling, still attempting to find any redeeming qualities about her acting skills. _Not that I need to care. This whole show is dumb to begin with._ "But... It's not like I'm a hopeless case, right?"

 **. . .**

"D-don't just go quiet on me. It was a serious question!"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

The amount of humans and youkai present in the Myouren Temple descended along with the sun. While the afternoon has not yet arrived, it is coming close. The incident involving the Miracle Mallet was a point of stress for human and youkai alike, but the unease and tension only rose with the appearance of the mysterious mountain. Both distressed, they flocked towards the temple seeking safety, even if imaginary, for they felt the nearly overlapping incidents to be a bad omen. What if something more arises? The mountain most likely holds a new faction, perhaps one of youkai. What would the effects of this be on the balance of Gensokyo, kept by a tightly-knit simbiosis of fear?

Myouren Temple was where they went in an attempt to calm their hearts and receive some form of good luck through Shou's presence. The temple welcomes youkai wholeheartedly, and humans are just as free to enter, though they may become subjected to the dangers of youkai only present in the temple to seek entertainment or a free meal; the temple takes no responsibility for these events. Throughout the morning and midday, the residents of the temple found themselves busy with the influx of people, human or otherwise. Only now, far from the early morning hours she woke up in, has the esteemed monk of the temple, Byakuren Hijiri, been able to leave the temple building and look out to the sky.

While a few people remained, most had left already in a rather sudden fashion, Byakuren noted. The amount of people coming and stay had been consistent all day long, and she thought it would stay that way for the next week, at the very least. However, in no more than a few hours ago, Byakuren and her followers witnessed a swift decrease in visitors, whose hopelessness was replaced with something else; an emotion none had expected others to assume in the present situation. Byakuren calmly breathed out. "Today is such a beautiful, sunny day." A small smile of faint amusement adorns Byakuren's elegant features and enhances her composed, albeit approachable stance. "It's quite a shame none of us were able to enjoy it."

"Them, on the other hand..." Shou, who is by her side, mutters in a manner that only displays a mere fraction of the concern she feels for the sight in the sky she is taking in with Byakuren. Regardless of her more serious gaze and ever-dignified presence, Shou's mind is pondering on past events as well as being attentive to Byakuren's words.

"They do seem to be having fun all the way up there, don't they? How wonderful to see that those beyond us, at the very least, aren't tiring themselves in a day like this." Shou glances at Byakuren, whose gaze is fixated entirely on the sky as though she is thoroughly scrutinizing it. "Though, it does make me wonder," she says, "if it's related to the previous incidents." No longer smiling, Shou notes that Byakuren seems pensive; her gaze is ever so slightly solemn.

"I'd say it's likely, Lady Hijiri." Along with a floating Unzan merely observing his surroundings, Ichirin arrives from the temple building. Realizing she suddenly spoke up unannounced, she awkwardly frowned before bowing slightly in an apologetic and respectful manner. "Ah, excuse me; I didn't mean to interrupt." Seeing Byakuren's gaze falling on her rather than the sky she had been so concentrated on, Ichirin recomposes herself and gives her a more or less confident look within the bounds of her respect for Byakuren. "Anyway, it can't just be a coincidence, even if the two incidents are unrelated. They look all merry up there, but it's got to be the result of at least one of the incidents so it's fishy, to say the least."

"I agree," Shou interjects, which makes Byakuren glance at her curiously. "Now hardly would be the time for easygoing parades. It would be prudent to assume there is someone pulling the strings." Shou narrows her eyes, showing herself displeased at the notion she suggested.

"In order to bring away the visitors, you mean?" Byakuren questioned, her gaze expectant.

Ichirin's frown deepens in confusion. "Our temple's visitors? How would that be related to the incidents, if I may ask...?" She crosses her arms as she finds herself deep in thought on the matter.

Noticing both Shou and Ichirin staring intently at her, Byakuren responds: "Many have gathered in this temple for their own peace of mind, and we have welcomed them. What do you think has made them so uneasy?"

"The mountain's appearance...!" Ichirin exclaims precisely when she realizes Byakuren's train of thought. However, her surprise and awe quickly fades as she considers it further, which she regrets due to having seen Byakuren proudly smile at her previous conclusion. "That does make the temple be connected to at least one of the incidents, but... Why the visitors? And why our temple?"

"It may not just be our temple," Byakuren calmly states, "Though, as far as we are concerned, the Myouren Temple has rapidly emptied itself of visitors; knowing more about that should be our first priority. We can't simply act beyond our immediate concerns if we have yet to solve even them." Finding Byakuren's words wise, Ichirin resolutely nods. Byakuren's smile remains subtly radiant. "Firstly, we must consider one thing." Byakuren raises a single finger. "That the culprits cannot be from the mountain."

While Shou remains silent in agreement, Ichirin continues confused. "How can you conclude that, Lady Hijiri?" she asks.

"It's simple, really. The population from the mountain has just arrived at Gensokyo, which means that they haven't yet gotten to know anyone," Byakuren explains in soft, yet decisive voice. "In fact, most are restless from their appearance. What sort of influence could they have that would allow them to spur this into action?"

Awed again by Byakuren, Ichirin stares at her in slight bewilderment. "I see... As expected of you, Lady Hijiri. I should start learning from you when it comes to these sorts of things."

Byakuren lightly chuckles. "It wasn't anything you couldn't figure yourself. With that, we're already eliminating one possibility from our minds. If we continue like this, we will eventually narrow down the supposed mastermind." She gives Ichirin an expectant look. "Would you have any idea of who else can't be the mastermind?"

She glances at Unzan, who whispers to her a response. "Huh..." She nods slightly, as though to acknowledge him and his words. "Well, as far as we can tell, it couldn't be a human since most can't even fly. Besides, humans fear and hate youkai. Even if we consider people like Miss Reimu or Miss Marisa, for example, it's clear they wouldn't have done such a thing either."

"Correct," Byakuren says in a considerably supportive manner. "See? If you try, you, too, can identify the mastermind." However, when she glances at Shou, she finds that her expression has fallen in a mix of surprise and slight anger. "Is something wrong, Shou?"

"Curses..." she utters in a more strained voice than normal within the temple. "I was so busy with the temple that I forgot to inform you of her disappearance." Shou covers part of her face with her hand, as though frustratingly reflecting on her actions. Usually, Shou does not lose her composure under almost all circumstances, but, to Byakuren and her most loyal followers, who she has deeper ties with, she is more loose on that matter; with the current lack of people in the temple, she finds herself with more freedom to express her anger at herself (for her own failures).

Concerned, yet curious, Byakuren asks, "Disappearance? What exactly do you mean?"

"Marisa came to the temple today and told me about it," Shou responds in a more or less calm manner despite her current anger, which she did not wish to direct at Byakuren. "Of Reimu's disappearance, that is."

"Oh my," Byakuren utters, eyes widening in pure surprise.

"Miss Reimu's missing?!" Ichirin questions, incredulous. Then, she raises her eyebrows, skeptic of Shou's words. "Are you sure she didn't lie to you...?"

Shou narrows her eyes. "I thought so, at first. However, she seemed genuinely intent on finding her. It seems as though she is planning on gathering a search party. Though, seeing as we were all busy at the time, I took the liberty of refusing to join her efforts; I must apologize if I acted out of line, however." Now calmer, though still disappointed in herself, Shou looks towards Byakuren in a more composed manner.

Meanwhile, Byakuren's expression conveys utter thoughtfulness. Despite that, having heard Shou's words, she shook her head. "No, you chose well. Before this, we truly could not have afforded to send anyone away. Regardless, I would've liked to know about Miss Reimu's disappearance beforehand. Next time, make sure to report these things to me at once, alright?" Far from the true definition of a scolding, Byakuren is smiling and her voice was only faintly assertive, but her words remained effective.

Without hesitation, Shou nodded. "Of course," she responds before bowing slightly. "Forgive my mistake."

"Well, as long as you understand," Byakuren softly concludes before seeming pensive. "Still... Miss Reimu happens to be missing exactly while all of this is going on... How convenient. Even so, it's likely her disappearance isn't tied to who orchestrated what we've seen in the sky."

"Really?" Ichirin immediately questions, surprised at the assumption.

Byakuren warmly nods. "Yes, really. With how unsubtle they are being, I imagine they have no intention of hiding themselves and instead want to remain in the sky. So, while you could say the mastermind would take Reimu down so she wouldn't intervene, there are plenty of others who could do so in her stead, and they are hardly being cautious of such people. As such, kidnapping Reimu would be a useless effort on their end. They may have involvement with the disappearance of Reimu to an extent, but it's unlikely that they are actually responsible for it."

"So..." Ichirin pauses, as if needing to further process Byakuren's deductions. "Could this have actually been caused by Miss Reimu's disappearance? Maybe, knowing they can rampage all they want, they..."

"Perhaps," Byakuren responds, looking pensive. Then, she turns to the sky again, though there is no longer anything but clouds and the sun there. "In the end, only a strong, influential sort of youkai could have caused this..." Byakuren narrows her eyes, seemingly solemn. "I imagine they have a motive. Regardless, Ichirin; Unzan." She turns to them with a somewhat serious expression, though it's subdued immensely by her soft-seeming demeanor. "I would like you to go after them and see for yourselves where their motivations lie. Afterwards, tell me all of what you've found, understood?"

Finding that she will be doing something interesting and productive at the same time, Ichirin's mood brightens as she confidently nods. "Yes, Lady Hijiri! We'll be back as soon as possible with a report!" With a smile, Ichirin is already floating, while Unzan remains beside her.

Byakuren smiles back and waves at them. "Be careful out there," she says as her parting words to Ichirin and Unzan, finding it amusing that Ichirin is so motivated.

"We will!" is what Byakuren immediately hears, which warrants a chuckle from her. However, as Ichirin and Unzan become farther and farther away from her, Byakuren's gaze starts falling on Shou.

"In the meantime, Shou," Byakuren says, "You will continue watching over the temple. Now that the number of visitors is so low, I can finally leave the grounds and see the residents of the mountain for myself." Byakuren's smile widens as she thinks of the prospect further. "I've heard an interesting amount of things about them, after all. I would love to know what kind of youkai they happen to be. Until Ichirin and Unzan arrive, I'll be making preparations for this outing of mine. Is that clear?"

Shou nods with a distinctly calm and dignified expression. "That is hardly any different from what I usually do," she responds before smiling. "Leave it to me."

"Well then, with all of this taken care of, there is only one thing left to address." Byakuren is still smiling warmly, and her presence is still a calm one.

However, Shou finds herself ever so slightly concerned. "And what would that be?" she questions, simultaneously curious on the matter brought up by Byakuren.

"The mastermind, of course. It will admittedly be hard hazarding a guess, but we can at least narrow down the possibilities considerably on our own. Speaking of that, however..." Byakuren stares directly at Shou, her gaze expectant, curious and pensive at the same time. While her smile remains in place and she isn't hiding any negative emotion in particular, the intent behind it undoubtedly changed, which Shou only confusedly takes note of. "Would you happen to know where Nue and Mamizou are?"

At the seemingly innocent question, Shou's expression darkens considerably.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Reimu dashes and dashes through the hallways of the Core, panting heavily. Each time she reaches an intersection, it's as though it were the one she stumbled upon initially. Annoyed, Reimu stops in her tracks. "Damn it!" Three paths await her at the intersection she arrived at once more. "What is up with this place?!" _I'd definitely be angry, too, if I had to go through a place like this._ However, even if that were to happen to Reimu, her luck and intuition make it rare for her not to immediately find the right path. "How am I supposed to get to the barrier like this?!"

"YOU AREN'T." Reimu turns to the right along with the camera following behind her. She then scowls in reaction to the ever-familiar robot she spots rolling out of the path to the right as though he had been in that area all along, despite the fact that she had supposedly gone there already. "NOW THAT YOU'RE INSIDE THE CORE, THERE'S NO ESCAPE FOR YOU NO MATTER WHERE YOU RUN. GET READY TO DIE, DARLING!"

Reimu huffs. "Have it your way! This time, I'll exterminate you for sure so I can finally get out of this place!" She assumes a fighting stance, her gaze resolute though equally indicative of anger.

 **'*The epic re-re-re-rematch commences!'**

Swiftly, likely due to her increasing familiarity with the way battles work here, Reimu's soul moves away from the numerous heart-shaped projectiles shot by multiple miniature versions of Mettaton orbiting him. The pattern wasn't complicated and, to a normal Reimu, it was simply too easy. Even now, surprisingly enough, she is supposed to convey this in the show.

Her serious expression does not falter in the slightest, something she is rather proud of. **"Dream Sign,"** she utters before breaking into the slightest, most subtle of smiles; her pride in her acting intensifies. **"Evil-Sealing Circle!"** The amount of amules shot by Reimu more than double the projectiles she had to dodge, and there are no cues or highlights to the spellcard to show Mettaton a safe space from them. Rows intertwine diagonally and continue moving to the right, only to switch to the left. Unlike the one she used on Undyne, however, it's still a much simpler version, one she considers easy enough for anyone to dodge. However, the concept of dodging projectiles is not as familiar to the residents of the Underground in general, and the amount of amulets is considerable in a normal person's standards to see.

Besides, Mettaton's fall to the spellcard is pre-determined. With five amulets lodged into his body, Mettaton lets out a robotic-sounding wince and momentarily falters. The camera zooms into Mettaton's general area so as to have his confident-looking pose be focused on over the actual battle occurring. Supposedly, Mettaton has been damaged, but despite his condition, he made an effort to entertain the audience; the ratings steadily increase. Reimu grimaces, especially seeing as Mettaton has yet to be defeated. "DISAPPOINTED, DARLING?"

Reimu clicks her tongue. "Just you wait, you metal box!" She brandishes her Purification Rod, but she does not use it seeing as her turn is over.

"IT'S METTATON FOR YOU!" A few of the miniature versions of Mettaton were shot down by Reimu's spellcard, but the ones that remained suddenly take something out from behind them. Reimu takes a step back, as though hesitating at the sight in front of her.

The mini-Mettatons... Are wielding mini-laser guns.

They come down on Reimu's soul at a moderate pace and, with the acquired guns, shoots small lasers flashing light blue and orange with every second. Too surprised to move in time, one of the lasers hits her whilst it shines orange. "What... What is this?" Reimu questions, seemingly bewildered.

"WHILE YOU WERE ON THE RUN, THE GREAT DOCTOR ALPHYS PREPARED THESE FOR ME. EVEN IF YOUR POWER LEVELS ARE INCONSISTENT, YOU WON'T GET THROUGH THESE SO EASILY!" _He's pointing it out,_ Reimu blankly notes in her mind, _He's pointing it out despite it being his fault._ "SAY GOODBYE, DARLING!"

Reimu narrows her eyes. Then, without hesitation, her soul simply moves aside from the lasers that had been aiming for its location specifically. Reimu snorts in amusement before snickering ever so slightly, unable to unleash the intended powerful chuckle the script demanded. "That's it? Really?" She abruptly scowls, contrasting greatly with her previous expressions. "You've been underestimating me, then! I'll make sure that doesn't happen again! **Dream Sign!"** Despite what Reimu considers to be the best of her performance, compared to, for example, her fight with Undyne, Reimu clearly lacks the emotional intensity she would normally attribute to a fight of this sort. After all, in reality, there is nothing at stake but ratings. **"Fantasy Dimensional Rift!"**

Semi-circle upon semi-circle of amulets are thrown at Mettaton before Reimu disappears from sight. Another camera is able to spot her: right behind Mettaton, Reimu is throwing an equal amount of amulets at daunting speeds; she disappears immediately afterwards. Trapped between these amulets, and with Reimu shooting even more in another angle entirely, Mettaton finds himself with no way to escape certain defeat.

Riddled with Reimu's amulets, which seem initially harmless in appearance due to being made supposedly out of 'mere paper', Mettaton's single wheel breaks off and he falls towards the floor, somehow in a graceful manner. Part of his screens no longer shine in red or yellow light, struck by Reimu's attacks. Reimu smirks as she stares at Mettaton's unmoving metallic body. "Looks like you weren't so tough after all." He says no words, and does not even twitch in place. Satisfied, she turns around and starts walking. "Seriously, what was I even running away from? Should've won the rematch from the very beginning..."

However, from behind Reimu, a single arm of Mettaton's faintly rises. He is making a thumb's up, as though to convey his usual confidence in the slightest of possible ways regardless of the situation. Reimu doesn't notice this, but she does know it's supposed to happen from the run-through of the script she had with Mettaton. In truth, even a spellcard of that caliber (which is rather high seeing as it's not even one of her normal spellcards, but instead one of her harder ones) is not enough to destroy or even scratch Mettaton, but the audience is unaware of this.

Reimu stops walking and widens her eyes in shock. "What...?" In front of her is the path... Supposedly. The hallway is moving towards the left, leaving its location all together. Right next to it slides another, completely different hallway, as if to replace it.

"Y-you won't get th-through," a nervous-sounding voice resounds through the area, as though projected through some sort of sound-amplifying device. The fact that it's Alphys is completely obvious to her at this point, especially since she finally fixated her name (after hearing Mettaton say it the frequent times he did in the show).

"Huh?" Reimu utters, seemingly confused.

"I w-won't let you." Reimu looks towards her left and right but finds nothing even remotely resembling a monster. This warrants a scowl from her, especially as she is currently being blocked by an individual she cannot even see.

Reimu grimaces as vacantly looks upwards, as if Alphys were there. "Oh yeah?"

"The hallways, uh, th-they... The Core's layout changes at will. My w-will," Alphys conveniently explains, her voice uneasy and awkward despite the dramatic lines. _And then Mettaton talks about me being a bad actress._ Unbeknownst to Reimu, her expression is more or less blank as she listen to Alphys; she was supposed to become angrier by the second. "The monsters in charge of the core left me with the controls. They t-trusted me with them... And now, I c-can't let them down. Not after y-y-you caused them s-so much p-pain. It's w-what Mettaton would've wanted!"

"At this point, do you think I'd let myself be stopped by a bunch of moving hallways...?" Reimu asks in an almost neutral fashion; this was not the script's intent. She turns towards another path out of the three that had been layed out for her. "It's not as if you can change the paths that quickly, anyway! As long as I manage to get there faster than you can block the way, there's nothing to fear!" She runs for the hallway, faster than ever before.

Reimu's running speed is not exactly spectacular, but since she is supposed to be faster than Alphys's reaction time, Alphys remains silent for about ten awkward seconds. She gasps. "N-n-no...!"

Reimu's balance falters from the sudden movement of the hallway she was running through. However, she quickly recovers and, at the sight of the exit being changed, she throws a total of five needles. "Now that I know what made me get lost in the first place, I'm not falling for it again!" The long needles all wedge themselves between the edges of the walls that had been sliding to the right, effectively jamming their movement for a mere few seconds. Regardless, said seconds are more than enough for Reimu who swiftly jumps towards the other side and breaths out. "Take that!"

Reimu continues running forward, a somewhat serious expression on her face as she does do. "D-d-don't you s-see? You can't j-just leave! There's, uh, there's s-still something you've got t-to face!" Alphys exclaims in a more or less dramatic fashion.

Reimu grimaces. "My death? My soul being taken?" Then, she stops in her tracks and brandishes her Purification Rod. "Or these monsters?! Huh?!"

 **'*It's the start of a madjick show!'**

"N-not just that..." Alphys mutters, seemingly uneasy.

"Whatever!" Reimu angrily interjects so as to silence Alphys before she speaks any further. _If only this part didn't happen, we'd get to the bottom of things so easily..._ Reimu thinks in an easygoing fashion, which highly contrasts with the show and what's happening in it. _This script is such a needless tease._ Then, so as to actually be able to properly control her soul before the slender, grinning monsters' flying crosses hit her by accident (as she isn't supposed to get hit at all), Reimu's eyes narrow on the screen in front of her. Down, left, right... While slower in comparison to Reimu herself, her soul responds to Reimu's will and dodges the projectiles almost as gracefully as Reimu herself would. Reimu is satisfied at how familiarized she has gotten with the system, but, unfortunately, she cannot let that show at the moment.

Reimu charges at the three monsters, all looking exactly the same. She has gotten to know them beforehand, she notes. All are interested in magic, and continuously enunciated foreign 'magical' words: they had actually regarded Reimu with interest; supposedly, they have interest in Reimu's spiritual arts. Finding that more entertaining than the script she had to memorize, she told them a little about her powers. The explanation, for reasons unknown to Reimu, warranted their confusion as though she had been talking about something completely foreign. They seemed to have no interest in Reimu's soul in particular, even though they knew Reimu is human. At the time, Reimu couldn't help but question the reason for this, but she never got to ask them directly because they left and Reimu was not curious enough to go after them.

Reimu swings her harmless-seeming weapon upwards, barely grazing through one of the Madjicks. However, it recoils and falls to the floor as though it had been hit; one has already been defeated. Could this mark despair for the Underground? Reimu jumps back before finding herself with no choice but to dodge an abundance of crosses. However, at the very moment her turn arrives, Reimu bolts past the two remaining Madjicks. "Don't think I don't know your plan! You're just buying time with these monsters!" Briefly, Reimu turns around and throws five amulets in the direction of the Madjicks that were running towards her. Supposedly, they have fallen to that. However, Reimu notes, they actually seem more skilled than the average monster from the Underground, so that would not have been enough to stop them at all if this weren't a mere fabrication.

She enters another hallway, only to find that it leads to a bridge. The space is open, but Reimu can't spot anything remotely similar to a path in her horizon. Having no other choice, Reimu continues running and running through the bridge, which she mentally remarks as rather narrow and unsettling. Suddenly, a light blue laser phases through Reimu; Reimu winces from the burning pain it caused. She has already passed it because she was running, but the laser hit Reimu nonetheless and supposedly burnt her. However, the 'laser' is a mere light of a blue color, so it doesn't truly damage Reimu. She looks towards her side with a grimace and then shifts her focus to the circular object that originated the laser. Without hesitation, Reimu throws a single needle at it; it pierces through the metal without resistance.

She spots a row of them forming in front of her. "Damn it..." she darkly mutters.

 **'*Knight Knight blocks the way!'**

"Huh?!" Reimu throws a few amulets out of reflex, only to find them torn by one, grand spear. Reimu groans, annoyed. **"Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal!"** The large balls of light spread out towards all sides, managing to hit both Night Night and the machines that were about to shoot the lasers. However, Knight Knight still stands.

Reimu did not interact with the monster beforehand in the same way she did with the Madjicks; Knight Knight was sleeping at the time. Instead, one of the Madjicks introduced her to Reimu in a strangely casual manner. At first, Reimu thought she was most likely some sort of slacker, but she seems to be working well under the show and Reimu perceives her as relatively stronger than the average monster from the Underground. Reimu is made to get out of the way of falling and rising spears which had no supposed order to their appearance. The speed which they move is surprisingly high, and the spear-like projectiles large in size, easily covering more than a fourth or third of the space Reimu has to move her soul in. While scary-looking, Reimu, as expected, is unscathed.

' ***You ran away!'**

With three more needles through the lasers ahead of her, Reimu jumps as though to serve as her propulsion to fly over Knight Knight despite the fact that this is unnecessary: according to Mettaton, it 'ADDS A CHARMING FLARE TO YOUR BEHAVIOR, DARLING'; as such, Reimu finds herself having to do it. Suddenly, however, she turns around. "You wish...!" Reimu barely stops the spear from reaching her through the use of a rather weak barrier, as she knows the spear in question is not the real deal and would not be able to kill her. Regardless, she notes, it would probably hurt getting hit by it.

Reimu flies towards the hallway she sees, which isn't moving. As though to indicate she is suspecting something about that, Reimu's frown deepens as she enters the hallway. She lands and begins running (which Reimu remarks as impractical in her mind) while looking towards every possible side for a trap. "Did you just give up now?" she asks as she arrives at an intersection much like the one she was in before. "Are you even listening to me?!" She stops exactly at the middle as she scrutinizes every path.

 _... Where was I supposed to go again?_ With a blank look, she decides to follow her intuition; she takes a left. "Y-you don't have to do this," Alphys says in a quiet, nervous voice. "N-not yet. Are you, uh, r-really ready to move on?"

Reimu throws two amulets forward, both hitting the distinctively different enemies in front of her. While one is tiny and floating about with a resolute expression, the one is grinning at her in an almost taunting manner. Reimu remembers talking to them: Whimsalot introduced himself to Reimu, and Astigmatism merely watched before giving a mean-spirited remark about the interaction. Whimsalot was not affected, but Reimu was. Regardless, her impression of them is neither negative or positive, like all monsters she met beforehand. Somehow, all of them had no problems with her existence as an actual human. They all treated her like an equal in the same way Reimu did. Did they simply not care about the barrier? Reimu did not even need to ask them why they didn't wish to kill her; it was obvious to her.

They didn't want to kill anybody to begin with. In that regard, Reimu had wistfully noted, they still had a long way to go. The residents of the Underground continued acting as though they were not youkai. Even now, as she recalls her interactions with them, Reimu confusedly wonders about that.

Then, her eyes widen as she feels a sudden lack of energy coursing through her body. "Wha...?!" She grimaces. _I should've concentrated, this isn't supposed to be in the show!_ Angered, Reimu scowls at her soul, which positioned itself at a corner where a set of circular projectiles hit her. Thankfully, the turn quickly ends, probably by the monsters' will. Astigmatism glances to the side with its smaller eyes before its larger one opens, but its grin remains in place; Whimsalot's head hangs low. Feeling somewhat guilty as well, Reimu also awkwardly glances towards the side.

"Uh..." Alphys mutters in an equally flustered fashion, wondering about the script. By now, Reimu should've responded to her words so she could vaguely explain their meaning. "U-um..."

Having heard Alphys, Reimu clears her throat. "As if you can bring me down," Reimu hastily says, "or whatever!"

"Wait what huh?" Utterly confused despite being the only person with the luxury of having the script right in front of her, Alphys finds herself at a loss for words. "O-oh my God?"

Reimu dashes forward, only to slide under Whimsalot with a clearly displeased frown on her face. _Now that I've ruined everything, I don't even know what I'm supposed to do anymore..._ Reimu thinks. _Not that I knew it all that well in the first place._ Ever so slightly smiling now, Reimu takes a right. _Time to just go with my intuition!_

"W-w-wait!" Alphys exclaims, still clearly uncertain despite Reimu's strangely confident stance in regards to the situation. "What a-are you e-e-even doing?!"

"Getting to Met—"

"The exit," Reimu corrects herself with a frown. "The barrier! What else?!"

"Oh my God, o-oh my God..." The hopelessness and anxiety in Alphys's voice is pitifully palpable, but Reimu pays that no mind.

Instead, she looks towards the two Final Froggits standing by the bridge. When they talked to her, they asked her strangely deep questions before meowing at her, which admittedly became a memorable experience for Reimu. They don't show any sort of unease from Reimu's sudden, untimely appearance into their fight, but they are definitely confused. Reimu smirks. "Prepare yourself, you youkai!" Now the Final Froggits become even more confused.

Before the screen even fully materializes, four amulets have already hit the two Final Froggits with ease. Then, determined, Reimu stares at her own soul intently as she finds herself having to make it escape the two jumping frog-like projectiles that are clearly aimed at her. This time, however, Reimu hasn't let her guard down and troubled another monster. With a content smile, Reimu says, "Consider yourself lucky I'm in a hurry or I'd teach you both a lesson!" Reimu seemingly runs straight for the wall at her side, but somehow, she doesn't crash into it. Alphys had even gasped, expecting it, but instead, she grows absolutely shocked at the fact that Reimu instead manages to enter the wall and appear from the other side.

Having successfully thrown everyone, even the cameras, off-guard, Reimu throws a flurry of amulets at the Final Froggits before floating forward, where she believes the final set to be at. At this point, Reimu isn't following the exact lines she is supposed to be saying and is simply relying on her own improvisation skills, but she knows she at least has to follow the story laid out for her unless she wants Mettaton to suddenly cancel her deal. _Though, I'd beat him up if he dared,_ Reimu thinks before recalling Alphys's existence. "Weren't you going to stop me?!"

"Y-you just w-w-went th-through a wall!" Alphys exclaims in a mix of shock and awe, unable to muster any other words for the sight she had witnessed.

In return, Reimu casually shrugs, as though not particularly worried or affected by Alphys. "But it's not like I can teleport or anything, so it won't get me to the barrier or anything like that!" However, she then notices a bridge in the horizon, which warrants an accomplished smile for Reimu. "Finally found it!" She advances through it as fast as she can, which is still rather average in the standards of people from Gensokyo. "Geez, this sure was a pain to get to..."

"W-w-w-wait!" Alphys interjects, panicked. However, by that point, Reimu is already past the bridge. Regardless, Reimu lands and finds herself just beside the door that leads to the climax of the show.

Reimu looks upwards, though she knows Alphys isn't there. Her expression is remarkably neutral. "What are you so worried about? None of this was your fault, you know? I'll take responsibility for the messes I make and clean them up myself." She even points up; Alphys is still not there. "Just you watch!" The words resound with Alphys in a way Reimu hasn't even intended or thought of. Stunned, Alphys remains silent. Reimu lowers her arm.

With that, Reimu walks for the entrance to the final room before Alphys can even provide her with an answer. She treads through it boldly and slowly, like she remembers she has to do in this situation. However, inwardly, she notes that the entrance has been very quickly sealed shut. A strange, light pink mist looms over the center of the room. Reimu is finally facing the finale. She breathes out. "What is it now? I've had enough of all these obstacles in my way."

Slowly, the strangely glittering mist scatters through the room, making a figure more and more visible. It's humanoid, Reimu confusedly notes. "That's too bad, darling." Reimu blankly stares at the still hazy figure and associates the slightly changed voice with a rather familiar robot. "After all..." he mutters in a seemingly seductive manner, one that disturbs Reimu ever so slightly. "I've been dying to show this body off. And now that you're here, the time has finally come for all my fans to see it in its full glory." What Reimu assumes to be Mettaton stretches his arms out. "Oh yes, beauties and gentlebeauties! This. Is. Mettaton!" The mist disperses thinly in a timely fashion, revealing, indeed, Mettaton in his full glory. Additionally, spotlights upon spotlights face his way, illuminating his presence whilst confetti fall gracefully upon him.

Reimu takes a step backwards as she stares at Mettaton blankly. "Who are you again?" His features are still distinctively robotic, but his form is more or less human. Black, grey and pink in color scheme, his one lone eye fixates itself on Reimu, making her have the urge to step back once again.

She knew, from the very beginning, that Mettaton would supposedly change forms. However, this isn't what she was expecting. Regardless, Reimu shows herself neutral again, wondering if she is supposed to be angry in this situation. "Stunned, darling? I can't blame you." The confident expression in his now emotionally capable face demonstrates his charisma in its entirety, and his gestures are almost as if natural. Apparently, in between the show and allotted breaks, Alphys had been tweaking and fixing 'something', according to Mettaton when they met for a run-through of the script. Reimu immediately assumes this is precisely what he was talking about. "But unfortunately for you, this is the end of the line. Now that I've gotten a hold of this beautiful body, you can't stop me. If you haven't prepared yourself at all, you will never hold a candle to me, darling."

Mettaton strikes a pose while Reimu crosses her arms. _This really wants to make a big deal over my tragic backstory..._ "That's what you told me before I crushed you." She grimaces, still in the process of being in-character. "If you think you'll stop me, think again, Mettaton!" She then brandishes her Purification Rod menacingly. "Because this time, I'll make sure I tear you a new—"

 ** _"SHRINE MAIDEN!"_** The destructive sound of the entrance being broken through by the sheer power of fists is immediately heard by both Mettaton and Reimu, who find themselves looking towards the entrance in surprise as they see none other than Undyne before them. She looks undeniably furious. Meanwhile, both Reimu and Mettaton are utterly confused. "What the _HELL_ are you doing?!"

Reimu frowns at Undyne, displeased at her seemingly threatening behavior and rude stance towards something Reimu most likely didn't do wrong. "Actually, what the hell are _you_ doing?" she questions, skeptical of Undyne's presence in general.

"I'm putting an end to your crap!" Undyne responds, anger burning through her voice. "Because of that fight, I thought you were actually more determined than I am. That you were fighting for your people's sake to the very end. That you'd at least TRY to get out of the Underground! But I was **WRONG!"** Undyne points at Reimu accusingly. "You aren't doing a single thing for anyone's hopes and dreams! You're just participating in some lame charade for no reason whatsoever! _'Oooh, I'm just a stupid villain now, look at me!'_ " Undyne's imitation of Reimu's voice is completely off, but the intonation is surprisingly flawless which, combined with Undyne's especially marking facial expressions makes the imitation above average in general. "Do you even care about your own dignity?! It disgusts me just thinking you were the one telling me not to abandon my own duties! Well, what about yours, punk?!"

Reimu, who looks only somewhat irked, crosses her arms. However, the first one to speak up is Mettaton. "Now, now, darling. There was probably some misunderstanding involved in all—"

"SHUT IT, METTATON!" Undyne shouts with intensity so great Mettaton could not possibly overpower her. At this point, even Mettaton's gaze is ever so slightly resentful. "I'm talking to the shrine maiden right now!" She then shifts her gaze back to Reimu. "I was planning on having that rematch after I was ready to take you on, but after seeing you and this cheesy, make-believe broadcast... I've made up my mind! I'll kill you and take your soul no matter what it takes! Strong or not, I won't fail to someone like you again! I'll take that fake determination of yours... And shatter it with my own bare hands! ** _NGAAAAAAAAH!"_**

 **'*Undyne is raring to fight!'**

Mettaton glances at Reimu. "Darling," he utters, "We're taking her down."

Reimu nods. "Fine by me! She looks like she needs a beating anyway, with all the nonsense she's saying about me!" She scowls, finding herself angrier and angrier the more she thinks about Undyne's words. "I'll have her take back everything she said with this match!"

"That's the spirit!" Miniature versions of Mettaton (the more rectangular one, Reimu notes) orbit around him, seemingly combat-ready. They are of the laser-wielding variety, which Alphys had supposedly prepared for him. "If the tables have turned, we just need to turn them back around as beautifully as possible!"

Reimu smiles. "Leave that to me." Circular rows upon circular rows of amulets appear in front of her, all of red, grey or golden colors. Reimu briefly gestures towards her amulets and points at Undyne. "Do your thing right..." she mutters while dragging the word 'right', seemingly looking for an opportunity to synchronize with Mettaton. "Now!" Both the amulets and the miniature Mettatons have been promptly released and, as Mettaton notices, the speed of the amulets, along with their general pattern changes depending on the colors. The fastest are the golden ones, while the slowest are they grey ones. However, the red amulets are the ones that accompany the miniature Mettatons' flashing lasers and home in on Undyne's position. "Beautiful attacks like these are a specialty where I come from."

"You make the surface sound better and better, darling," Mettaton remarks with a charming smile that exudes confidence. "I don't think I'll be able to wait very long if you keep that up."

"Too bad for you, huh?" Reimu retorts before narrowing her eyes at Undyne, whose rage is more than visible.

Already with two magical spears in hand, Undyne throws one of them at Mettaton, and makes another turn Reimu's heart green. Swiftly, Mettaton dodges before striking a pose. **_"NGAAAAAAAH!_** YOU PUNKS! You think this is a joke?!"

"You're the only one who thinks that!" Reimu counters, irritated. "I was more than serious about being in the show, and I'm more than serious about beating some sense into you now! I'm not the one jumping to conclusions here!" Reimu winces at the hit she took from the tiny arrow that she didn't look at due to having focused on Undyne. However, after the few seconds of invincibility, Reimu gives her soul its proper focus and manages to perfectly block the rest of the projectiles. However, the fact that her HP has been so effectively drained from the show leaves her angrier at the situation.

Undyne huffs indignantly. "As if you could have any good reason to do this! If you REALLY wanted to go straight home, you'd have already done it! I'm not about to believe any of your lies again! This time, I'll take your soul and put it right where it belongs: our king! And unlike him, I'll **ACTUALLY** do it!" She spitefully glances at Mettaton, who rolls his eye in reaction to that.

"Whatever you say, then," Reimu states, clearly annoyed. "If that's what you want to believe, fine! But if there's one thing I won't let anyone do right now, it's taking me down, you hear me?!" Reimu gestures at Mettaton, as though to signal their turn. "So you better get ready to lose again!" A flurry of ying yang orbs fly towards Undyne seemingly with no proper pattern or direction to them. "Go for it, Mettaton!"

"On it, darling!" With a snap of his fingers, somehow, a ball of light comes down upon Undyne. While it seems like the beams of light haphazardly coming out seem harmless at first, they are actually lasers of a grey or light blue color. In reaction to the sudden device, Undyne throws a spear at the disco ball but doesn't manage to avoid the ying yang orbs. "Adding to the damage you'll be paying for? Be my guest! You're the one who'll be in crippling debt, after all!"

"Says the one defending a HUMAN! If you've got a problem with _JUSTICE,_ you've got a thing coming for you, Alphys's robot friend... thing!" Undyne loudly argues, "I'm not paying you a single G!" It doesn't seem as though Undyne will ever calm down; she remains furious. She is in such a way furious that she hardly actually processes the words of her opponents in a more or less rational manner: Reimu, whose arguments suggested she had an ulterior moment, has similarly been ignored like this.

Focused, Reimu finds herself blocking three rows of five arrows before golden ones come from all four directions, all of them only ever so slightly behind each other. Confused at the sudden golden arrows and being in the middle of reminding herself of what they are like in the first place, Reimu gets hit once more. "Damn it!" Reimu breathes out, as though tired; it's the lack of HP eating at her mind. Feeling herself slightly tired, Reimu looks towards her bag after verifying that Undyne's turn ended. "You go attack her; I need to eat."

"If you need to eat, why are you reaching for that rag you call your bag, darling? Don't you remember what we talked about?" Mettaton questions, as though curious and confused. However, he is completely aware of the answers to the inquiries he made. He is smiling slyly down at Reimu, whose gaze turns somewhat neutral.

"You mean that thing you were going to give me at the end?" Reimu crosses her arms.

"Come on now! Don't spoil the audience!" Mettaton says, though he clearly doesn't mean it. However, he then shows himself surprisingly excited. **_"BUT SPEAKING OF THAT!_** Have you **SEEN** these ratings, darling?! They're through the roof! I knew you'd be worth it!" Then, as though out of thin air, Mettaton throws a tiny, pink box made out of carboard at Reimu, who unwillingly catches it. "This is a sign of my gratitude, so you'd better take it. It's not every day you get a product as luxurious as this without spending any money!"

With the action of throwing the item at Reimu, the turn ends for Mettaton, while Reimu's is ongoing because she is going to eat it. "So this is expensive? This better be good, then!" Convicted, Reimu opens the box, only to find a hamburger. However, unlike the more natural colors of the one she ate at Grillby's, this one covered in sprinkles, with bread slices and condiments dyed in bright, almost blinding colors. Confused, Reimu stares at the hamburger...

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 ** _"NGAAAAAAH!_** JUST EAT IT ALREADY, PUNK!" Undyne furiously shouts while impatiently glaring at a midly displeased Reimu. Her frown deepens at Undyne's complaining.

 _It can't be worse than Papyrus's spaghetti,_ Reimu thinks before taking a quick bite out of it. "Huh..." she utters as she chews on it, only to feel it dissolving and being absorbed; it remains a very strange feeling for Reimu. Despite that, she now feels slightly better. Without hesitation, and with an expression of curiosity on her face, she takes another bite. "Tastes weird, but it's not bad." Reimu shrugs before biting out of the hamburger again. As though to hurry herself up, she immediately takes another bite and finds herself waiting a few seconds before all of that gets absorbed. Reduced to a smaller piece, Reimu eats the rest of the Glamburger she had been given. "Thanks for the meal, I guess."

"See? Aren't you glad you tried it? Because I am!" Mettaton responds in a confident, seemingly cheerful and charismatic voice.

"Well, good for you," Reimu neutrally retorts, "but we've gotta take care of her." Reimu points at Undyne. "I don't wanna let my guard down this time around!" Now that her HP has been healed, Reimu is more resolute than ever to make sure she doesn't lose a single bit of it.

"At this point, you won't get past me no matter how skilled you are!" Undyne asserts with a fierce gaze. "With everyone's hopes and dreams riding on your soul, I can't afford to lose again! Especially not to YOU!" She materializes a spear and brandishes it threateningly. "Get ready to—!"

"W-wait!" A familiar voice interrupts the fight in its entirety, as even Undyne shows herself shocked. Reimu and Mettaton look towards the entrance while Undyne turns around. All of them see the same sight: Alphys. Alphys is panting, tired, and her expression indicates nothing but unease.

"Alphys?!" Undyne questions with a grimace. "What are you doing here?!" Then, she narrows her eye. "I know you're in on this too, but you're trying to stop me?"

Reimu crosses her arms as she watches this, having no knowledge of Undyne's relation to Alphys. "U-Undyne, please... Hear me out." Conflicted, Undyne remains silent, though it's clear she is still angry. Had it not been Alphys urging her to listen, she would've perhaps dismissed entirely from the sheer rage welling up inside of her. "The human, s-she's got nothing to do with this. It was..." Alphys hesitated; her hands are trembling. "I-It was all my fault." Alphys's gaze is downcast, as though she is ashamed of showing her face to others.

"What do you mean with that, Alphys?" Undyne immediately questions. "Don't just blame yourself out of nowhere!"

"B-but it's true!" Undyne shows herself slightly surprised at how Alphys somewhat raised her voice, though it still sounded unconfident. What exactly would make her this convicted? "I... I'm the reason she's d-doing any of this to begin with. She just wanted to go home... I-I was the one w-who stopped her, Undyne." Undyne's grimace deepens.

Meanwhile, Mettaton steps forward. "Alphys," he utters in an almost dry manner, "What are you even talking about?" Confused, Alphys shifts her attention to Mettaton, while Undyne, irritated, turns around. "I was the one who got her into the show. It IS my show, after all. What are you blaming yourself for?" He thinly smiles, as though to show his lack of ill will. Even despite that, however, he manages to come off as confident.

"That m-might be true, but if it wasn't for me, n-none of this would've even happened," Alphys counters, still looking ashamed and uneasy.

"And?" Reimu asks as she stares at Alphys. Her neutral gaze continues being far too marking for Alphys. It's truly as though Reimu can look past all lies; it unnerves Alphys. Regardless, it's also the one quality that warrants her admiration.

"That just means you did a good thing for me. This is the most ratings I've ever had!" Mettaton interjects in a joyful manner. Then, he puts a hand to his waist, right in between his chest piece and the start of his legs. "You should be proud of yourself."

Alphys doesn't move or react; she continues trembling. In the midst of her own depressive thoughts and lack of self-esteem, she found their words to be more than she ever deserved. With a wry smile, slowly, hesitantly, she looked up at Undyne, whose pensive yet still displeased gaze is focused on no one. "S-see, Undyne? There's n-nothing you need to fight in here. Mettaton, h-he's, uh, been doing me a favor all along." Reimu glances at Mettaton, seeing as he was mentioned by Alphys, but finds a hint of wistfulness in his gaze; Reimu wonders what, from Alphys's words, triggered that. Regardless, Mettaton is still decisively smiling. "And th-the human isn't all that b-bad either. A-actually, she's kind of cool."

That marks one of the very few times Reimu has been so earnestly praised. Alphys's expression was genuine in its awkwardness and embarrassment, and her voice carried the obvious tone of admiration; it's something Reimu isn't used to at all in Gensokyo. Feeling appreciated, and finding that rather awkward, Reimu looks to the side with an ever so slightly flustered expression. "Obviously," Reimu mutters before catching sight of Mettaton slyly smiling down at her, as though finding a need to tease her at any moment. Reimu shoots him a glare.

"I-I mean," Alphys hastily utters out of feeling as though Undyne would disapprove of her opinion. "It's l-l-like she's from the History books, so she...! Looks really cool! But, uh, it's not just that, she... I think... I-I..." Cornered by the haunting thought that she garnered Undyne's disapproval and that Undyne may just hate her forever now that she supported her sworn enemy, Alphys finds herself at a loss for words and spiraling further and further into her own panic. "I'm s-s-sorry, Undyne, I-I... I know you d-don't like her, but I came over a-anyway and, I just..."

"Alphys," Undyne calls in a surprisingly calm manner. She steps towards a more withdrawn Alphys with a frown on her face, though not caused by Alphys herself. When she touches Alphys's shoulder, she flinches and doesn't make eye contact, afraid of doing so. "It's okay, Alphys... I believe you." It's only then that Alphys looks towards Undyne, surprised at her reaction.

"R-really...?" Alphys questions in a mix of skepticism and awe.

"YEAH, REALLY! Do you think I'd lie to you?!" Undyne shouts out, but, unlike before, her voice no longer carries any resentment or anger. She pats Alphys's shoulder, unbeknownst to the immense pain Alphys felt with the sheer strength of her hand. "Besides, you don't usually get out of the lab, let alone for something like this. If you had to go that far, it's got to be because you _**really**_ believe in it! And I trust you, Alphys!" Undyne grins at her. The fact that the grin is genuine in its entirety leaves Alphys completely flustered, blushing. Stunned, she ceases to even tremble. "I know you'd **NEVER** say something without a reason for it!" However, on the other hand, Undyne's trust in Alphys is just as hurtful for her. Mentally remarking on how fake she is, her expression falters.

Despite that, Alphys manages a smile. "Th-thanks..." She awkwardly and quietly chuckles, as though nervous and uneasy.

At this point, however, Reimu and Mettaton aren't focused on them and are instead looking at each other. "Hey," Reimu calls out first with a somewhat neutral expression. "Isn't your show basically bust now?"

"You could say that," Mettaton responds, but he seems far from saddened. "But it's working out in my favor so who am I to complain?"

Reimu shrugs. "I guess. Anyway, you'll do your end of the deal, right?"

Mettaton's smile widens, as though he is amused at hern worries. "Of course! I'm a robot of my word, darling. After we finally end the show, Alphys can tell you how to cross the barrier. I'll have to leave by that time, so this will be the last time you see me." Mettaton sticks his tongue out in a playful manner. "Make sure you savor it, darling!" Then, in a slightly more serious manner, he narrows his eye. "I'll be waiting."

"Don't expect to see me right away, though," Reimu casually says, as though she isn't talking about anything too important. However, she then looks towards Alphys and Undyne. "So, how are we going to end the show or whatever?"

Pridefully and amusedly, Mettaton smirks. "Well..."

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Reimu breathes out, tired. The only time she has slept, though it was more of a nap, was at Papyrus's house. Beyond that, she has been going through the Underground the entire time. However, Reimu doesn't feel unmotivated over this. She simply must return to Gensokyo: with such thoughts in mind, Reimu's convictions do not yield. However, admittedly enough, everything she had to do just to end the show was more than she expected.

From improvising with Mettaton so as to reach an ending and explain the situation to actual cleaning (that Mettaton did not do along with the monsters on set and Reimu; Reimu was glaring at him throughout the entire event), it was a great amount of work. It felt almost like cleaning up after a festival or flower-viewing event of her shrine; Reimu frowns at that memory. While parties are fun, cleaning them up is not, especially with a hangover. "S-so... Uh..."

Reimu hears Alphys behind her attempting to start a conversation. They had both arrived, yet again, at the room where the climax of the show occurred a few minutes ago, but with so much having happened, both took a bit of time to process it. Eventually, she sees Alphys by her side, seeing as she stepped towards Reimu. "You're going to tell me how to cross the barrier, right?"

"Y-yeah," Alphys responds in a clearly nervous, hasty manner. "I mean, i-it's part of the d-d-deal, after all! And y-you do want to, uh, go home." Alphys casts her gaze on the floor, now immaculate; before, it was littered with glitter. "Right...?"

Reimu looks towards Alphys with a confused expression. "Why are you even asking? Of course I do, no matter what it takes!" Reimu crosses her arms, somewhat irritated at the fact that she had to specify something so obvious.

"N-no matter what it takes, huh..." Alphys mutters with somewhat of a wry smile, though her gaze clearly indicates sadness.

"Of course! If any youkai here gets in my way, they'll get what's coming for them!" Reimu exclaims in a resolute manner; words like these come easily and almost naturally for her.

"Actually, I, um... I've got a question for you."

"What is it?" Reimu impatiently asks, hoping it isn't just a waste of her time. Still, by her expression, it's visible that Reimu is fully willing to listen to Alphys.

Alphys narrows her eyes. "Are you... r-really human?"

"How rude," Reimu remarks, genuinely offended, albeit slightly. "I'm obviously human!" Despite that, however, Reimu finds herself curious. "Why would you even ask that?"

"W-well... Human magicians d-do exist, but th-they aren't supposed to express their m-magic like you do," Alphys explains, "A-at least, that's what I know..."

"That knowledge is all a lie, then," Reimu bitterly retorts. "Not every human can do the things I can, but the ones that do express themselves like that just as much as anyone in a battle." _Why do they all have wrong knowledge on things? It's so confusing._

"W-where are you from, then?" Alphys curiously asks, almost as though she were close to reaching some sort of detrimental conclusion. Reimu eyes that strangely.

"Gensokyo. Do you know about it?" All youkai tend to know about Gensokyo, so Reimu even finds the question pointless. However, since the youkai from here are so different, Reimu decided to include the question, just in case.

"Gen... sokyo...? Is that in Japan...? I-I don't know about it at all..." Alphys's response was genuine. She has no idea of Gensokyo. _For how long have these youkai been sealed, anyway?_ It must have been a very long time, Reimu concludes.

While this confuses both Alphys and Reimu, Reimu scowls in response rather than being uncomfortable about it. "Does it even matter, though? You're supposed to tell me how to cross the barrier."

"I g-guess..." Alphys doesn't seem satisfied with that, but she senses she can't pry into Reimu's cryptic background any further. What she does know is that a place like Gensokyo is not at all familiar to her, and that Reimu is far from a normal human. What exactly makes up her identity? She can tell she is a shrine maiden, but who exactly is she? It truly does seem as though she is facing someone from an anime. Taking sight of Reimu's impatient glare, Alphys awkwardly and meekly clears her throat. "If you w-want to cross the barrier, you'll have to g-go up this path and enter the elevator to the king's castle... When you do, y-you can find a place with access to the barrier."

"I knew it!" Reimu exclaims in pride of her correct assumptions. "So I really just have to go into the castle!" Unaware of the fact that she interrupted Alphys, Reimu continues speaking: "That just means I didn't even need to make a deal with Mettaton, then." Reimu raises a fist in the air from the injustice. "That robot tricked me!" Then, more calmly, Reimu frowns. "Either way, though, I just have to worry about getting into the castle and beating up your king. You youkai all tend to get in the way of these things, so I bet he'll try to stop me. It's part of the procedure, anyway." Reimu casually shrugs as though she were talking about a daily occurrence.

"Y-youkai..." Alphys faces Reimu with a somewhat nervous expression, but it doesn't convey any sadness. In fact, there is no self-loathing in her gaze, especially as she is focused on something solely pertaining Reimu now. "A-actually, I don't think you know about this but w-we monsters, uh... aren't youkai."

Reimu scowls, her mood soured. "Why do you all keep saying that?! As far as I can tell, you could only be youkai and I'd know because I'm a shrine maiden; knowing that is part of the job!" she confidently responds, though she is also visibly angry at the misunderstanding between the monsters that simply won't fade. "If anything, you're the ones who don't even know what youkai means!"

"I know what it means," Alphys immediately interjects in an insistent manner. "I-it refers to the m-mythological creatures and supernatural phenomena in Japanese." _So she does know..._ However, that makes the misunderstanding more confusing. How is it that she is unaware of her own identity if she is actually familiar with the term? Using Papyrus as a reference, it seems as though the residents of the Underground don't know what the word means to begin with. Reimu's scowl fades into a more curious expression. "But, monsters are different."

"Oh? How so?" Reimu asks as though challenging Alphys's knowledge. While she was surprised at how Alphys knows what the word 'youkai' means, she is sure that her reasoning will most likely be erroneous. Reimu has seen and dealt with youkai throughout her entire life. The residents of this underground location may be a little off in comparison to the normal youkai, but they can be other youkai nonetheless as the variation is very big.

"F-first off... Monsters don't depend on humans to survive." Reimu raises an eyebrow at that statement, clearly skeptical of it. "Youkai and Japanese gods need to have humans who believe in them, r-right? Monsters don't. We just need our soul and magic." Alphys's expression becomes somewhat vacant. "I mean, a-at this point, we're probably just legends to them."

"... Go on." Reimu narrows her eyes as her expression darkens slightly. "Any other reasons?"

"M-monsters are also weakened by killing intent and youkai aren't. Both are more magical than physical too, but while that makes youkai s-stronger against physical attacks, it makes us weaker to humans unless we absorb their souls," Alphys continues explaining, hesitant only because of her overall lack of self-esteem and the thought of upsetting Reimu and not because she is unsure of her own knowledge. "For the most part, monsters are different from youkai at t-their core. Their o-origins aren't even the same."

Reimu's can intuitively tell that Alphys isn't lying. However, does she simply hold wrong knowledge unknowingly? Reimu stares at Alphys intently. "Huh..." she utters while processing everything Alphys told her. She had always suspected something to be 'off' about the residents of the Underground: they look like youkai, but they act in a completely different way from them and seem unaware of anything Reimu is familiar with.

"Th-that's why... W-when you fight Asgore..." Alphys hesitates, but the emotion in her voice is raw to the point of garnering Reimu's attention despite her own thoughts. "D-don't think of him as just a youkai you need to e-exterminate."

"Asgore?" Reimu questions, confused. "You know, youkai or not, I'd beat the king up anyway. It's not a big deal." _For now..._ Reimu thinks of Gensokyo for a few moments, unaware of Alphys's expression growing more and more disheartened.

"You don't have to 'just' beat him up..." Alphys mutters hesitantly. "To cross the barrier, you need one human soul a-and... And a monster soul. Out of all the monsters', Asgore's is the only one that will remain, even if for a few moments."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Reimu asks with a serious expression, knowing Alphys is not talking about something that can be taken lightly while having no idea of what it even is to begin with. Regardless, knowing it has to do with crossing the barrier, Reimu sees an absolute need to get a clarification on what Alphys was saying.

"In other words..." Alphys pauses, still hesitant. She looks away from Reimu. "You have to kill Asgore."

"Huh...?" Reimu sees Alphys running away from Reimu, unable to bear being in the same room now that she revealed what exactly she has to do. "Wait...!" Admittedly, Alphys surprised Reimu. She never expected that she had to take a life to cross the barrier. Would it be more advantageous to simply break it on her own? She remains surprised as she considers the matter.

The one factor that she has to take into account, however, is the fact that the monsters are not actually youkai. Reimu darkly scowls. Is this location even in Gensokyo? If she breaks the barrier and it happens to still be leading to the Outside World, it could cause an uproar that would threaten the existence of Gensokyo. If it happens to be within Gensokyo already... Reimu narrows her eyes. Her priority lies in Gensokyo's peace and balance. Something of this caliber is a matter too delicate to risk breaking the barrier. "Preferably, I should cross it first..." That way, Reimu will know what to do with the monsters.

However, that can only mean one thing... Reimu's expression remains in place as she walks forward, supposedly towards the elevator that would lead her to the king's castle. Her gaze is serious to the point of becoming menacing and scary; it cannot compare to any of Reimu's usual expressions. She is deep in thought, thought of a negative nature. Despite that, Reimu will not simply stop moving forward.

She can already see the elevator. Her gaze falters, but not out of hesitation.

When she faces the elevator straight forward, she sees herself reflected on the immaculate silver doors. She is frowning, and her gaze is wistful yet strangely calm. "Not a youkai, huh..."

Reimu sighs. Then, she smiles, almost bitterly so. "Not that it matters..." However, in face of her situation, said smile does no last long and is instead discarded in favour of a convicted, serious expression, fitting with the silver of the doors. "If they stand in the way, they're the enemy."

Resolute as always, and needing to be so, Reimu pushes the button that supposedly allows her to take the elevator.

After only a few seconds, the doors open.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

IT'S FINALLY OVER! I blame Mettaton for this ^^' To be honest, overall, this turned out better than expected. Let's look at things in a positive way! Whatever the case, I have to admit I was never very attached to Hotland. Regardless, I wanted to make every area be interesting and not forsake it entirely. Unfortunately, due to twists and turns of the plot, Hotland itself had to take a few hits in terms of not being shown in its glory, so I can only hope you forgive me. Previously, I wanted this to only be three parts, but Hotland's actually huge and there's simply no way I'd just dedicate three chapters in total for an area this big when all the others got four. With that in mind, this chapter is the fourth chapter of Hotland and marks its end. Oh, and to me, the Core is basically part of Hotland so the four chapter rule doesn't count.

... The Ruins? We don't talk about that around here. I'm so sorry, hahaha ;_; I do plan on coming back and adding some extra things to that chapter, though. Well, putting that aside, the start of the chapter was easier to figure out: I wanted Reimu to explore the resort. However, I did wonder what exactly I wanted it to be like. At first, Reimu was gonna see Mettaton right away, but then I thought that sucked for exploration so Papyrus immediately popped to mind. As you all know, I love Papyrus so that part was great. Well, I have to admit it's kind of hard writing dialogue between Reimu and Papyrus, but it's mostly because Reimu is rude and I struggle with writing that in terms of reactions. However, when that's not happening, Papyrus and Reimu can actually get along okay.

Are you bad with spoilers? I'm honestly okay with spoilers. I mean, I'd rather not have them, but they won't hurt me badly, per se. I kind of liked the discussions I had going between Reimu and Papyrus in that regard; they speak for a lot of people. Which side are you on? ;D Also, more Flowey! But he doesn't show up! Kind of pointless of him to show up if I can't write any dialogue with him :/ I like writing Flowey, but he only shows up and does things at specific points of the game, and there's no way he feels like showing himself to Reimu now. Regardless, it made for a conversation topic with Papyrus.

For the most part, there isn't much to the resort. My favorite part was honestly the ficus guy XD It was fun how Reimu was actually helping him out without meaning it. But also, the Nice Cream Guy! I screwed him over lol omg. The thing is... I was almost forgetting his existence ^^' I forgot that he had to show up in Hotland, and Reimu passed by the place where the stand is originally at so I was at a loss for what to do until I got the brilliant idea of the Nice Cream Guy showing off his beautiful business skills by screwing himself over regardless of having received advice. Since he arrived at Hotland earlier than normal (because Reimu told him to go to a hot place; you did notice he wasn't in Waterfall), he encountered Mettaton by chance, or so goes the story. AUs, wooo! Burgerpants sending his condolences, hahaha.

You know, when it comes to this story, I want Reimu to have a conversation with all the main characters at least once. Why? Because, well, don't you have those sorts of stories where all sorts of things are happening, but it's like everybody's still a stranger because they've never had a single, actual conversation? Just saying a few things that are necessary doesn't really count; it has to be a conversation (which will have a purpose, naturally so). In the end, the characters become friends or are supposed to be progressing when nothing BETWEEN them has actually happened; it's really saddening for me. Personally, I think it'd be a waste not to have Reimu talk to the characters when the purpose of the story is for Reimu to interact with her environment. I mean, nobody's gonna befriend Reimu anyway, but it's still better for these things to happen because things aren't just happening: you are actually seeing the characters interacting. Do you get where I'm coming from? I'm having a hard time explaining it, but hopefully you get the idea.

Whatever the case, because of this, I HAD to have Reimu have a conversation with Mettaton. I HAD to. However, as the people who looked at my profile figured, I suck at writing Mettaton. Omg I swear he was part of the reason I took so long with the chapter: I just suck at writing Mettaton. Besides, it's a pain describing actions done by Mettaton as a robot because he has almost no expressive capability. Still, the strange part is that I struggle the most, as it seems, when he's a robot despite the fact that it makes no difference personality-wise; I didn't find much difficulty writing Mettaton EX lol Maybe it really is the difference in expressive capability. Either way, I know the gist of Mettaton's personality, but somehow, I struggle nailing the exact way Mettaton speaks. I mean, I try, and I hope it's actually okay, but I struggle.

I like considering Mettaton to be a serious character, you know? Something I notice a lot with Mettaton is that he tends to be treated as though there is no seriousness to him. Personally, he's one of the characters that I find able to express more serious things in the story. While Mettaton can definitely be used for shenanigans, he isn't just a huge joke: I think he has as much of a serious side as anyone else. Like, there's this feeling with Mettaton that he is putting thought behind things, so it's easy to make him talk sly or serious. Mostly, I see him portrayed as someone just for laughs, but in the game, he is shown being serious in his own way; he is shown considering things; he is shown to be more than just silly feminine shenanigans. I really want to capture that essence of Mettaton's character. The moments I enjoy the most when it comes to Mettaton are surprisingly not the parts where he is being the silliest, but when it's about him at a deeper level, like about his admiration for humans or relationships with other characters or how he feels about things. I like that. Though, I do love it when I make him say something funny that I can actually imagine him say. I try my damn hardest to get him in-character, and I only hope I succeeded at least somewhat despite how much I struggled.

So, remember that time I said I couldn't show Byakuren? Yeah... Just don't trust my words lol since I'm always changing things somehow. Whatever the case, I managed to include Byakuren! I'm really happy about this development, to be honest, and the scene really adds to my intention of reinforcing certain notions. Honestly, I think I sounded like I was just a Miko fan who didn't like Byakuren, but I actually like Byakuren. My only problem is that people tend to be biased towards Byakuren: basically, they see Byakuren vs. Miko as Good vs. Evil, so Miko's a bitch who only cares about getting followers (whyyyyyy) and Byakuren's this saint who wouldn't harm a fly. This barely truly grasps these characters. It's a stereotype, and it's displeasing because Byakuren and Miko are handled really greatly in canon. In the Touhou series, it's like ZUN goes out of his way to make Byakuren and Miko be portrayed as equally as possible: both have times where they suck over the other, and both of their views are not seen as the evil or wrong view and are instead discussed as the different perspectives that they are. It's really awesome how much the series makes neither Byakuren or Miko be evil or good people: they're made out to be precisely what they are; people with opinions. No, really, read everything they've been in and notice the maturity and class about this writing, because you see Byakuren and Miko both as people with their own views that clash, none being considered better or superior to the other. Byakuren and Miko deserve better portrayals.

I've raved about Miko enough, but Byakuren's gonna be a new one. Writing Byakuren's actually pretty neat: she is more even-tempered and goes about her business through different means from Miko. She has this flaky air to her because of her softer demeanor, but she packs a punch if necessary and can definitely be relied on if you're on her side. I really loved the contrast of how Byakuren acts because she's a very different sort of leader that, regardless, does her job perfectly fine. Youkai are in her best interests, so she wants to check out the mountain and is equally curious about other things going on in Gensokyo... Byakuren is also smart, and it shows; she is definitely a capable person. Another thing about Byakuren is that she and her followers have a closer feel to them: they seem more united as a community, so you feel nice writing this sort of relationship since these youkai really love Byakuren and Byakuren loves them back. Byakuren is described (in Symposium of Post-Mysticism) as acting like this sweet old grandmother and lol truuuue but that's actually what's charming about her: the fact that she is like that, but is still a very capable person who can get things done.

The lack of references on Shou's behavior beyond Touhou 12 and Symposium of Post-Mysticism really makes me struggle writing her. It's said Shou is more emotional around people she's closer to, but I haven't seen this in practice, so it's harder to imagine how it'd be. As such, I'm writing from what I know of the character and I can only hope this is how she'd be. I imagine so, at least in this situation: it's not like she'd just explode in rage all of a sudden. Also, Ichirin and Unzan were a thing! Hahaha, I love Ichirin, she's such a dynamic character: her demeanor tends to put a smile to my face since it's this down-to-earth positivity that's not too cheerful or obnoxious; it's more fun-loving than anything, but also not careless. It's hard to describe, but I'm a huge fan of Ichirin because her personality's really nice. In this situation, though, she served more as the Watson to Byakuren's Sherlock omg I actually found it hilarious how much the Touhou side of things is becoming this mystery show. Next thing I know, Byakuren's solving murder cases along with her followers XD Byakuren was making all these assumptions and it was so amazing, really. In the end, what exactly were Byakuren and Shou thinking...?

Like always, you start out in the middle of the show. The fact that the Core has moving rooms was actually really convenient to me since I didn't have to stick to any map. As such, I was able to make Reimu go wherever I wanted! Ah, it's so liberating! Usually, I'm restricted to the confines of the maps of the areas, and it's a bit awkward to navigate them when it comes to writing, especially because I always fear I'll forget a part of the map. Mettaton's defeat was so easy, and so symbolical ^^' It was the death of the box robot Mettaton, and the birth of Mettaton EX. Personally, I like him as a box a bit more but Mettaton EX is rather fabulous.

The run-ins with the enemies of the Core were probably the only things that made me regret not having scenes about Reimu going through her script: what happens is that she gets to this room where the staff is, and she'll either read through the script, talk with Mettaton or Alphys, or meet these other monsters. She met all of the Core monsters beforehand at those scenes. I don't write them because they'd actually be boring and a pain in the ass to write, along with the fact that throwing you into the show is more interesting. So, I just sort of had to narrate the stuff that happened. At first, I was actually anxious because the run-ins were most likely gonna get boring if they kept going like they were: the fact that Reimu will have to run away is obvious, so it unnerved me. Thankfully, Reimu messed up and that glorious part where Reimu stops giving any fucks was born. Hahaha, it was really refreshing actually writing Reimu in the middle of the show: normally, I'm writing Reimu speaking as this other character who is far from close to being as interesting as Reimu within the show. However, in that scene, it was 100% Reimu, and it was glorious. See, Mettaton? Your ratings would've gone up if you just let Reimu go wild!

Alphys is actually a bit difficult to handle as a character. You have to know how much and in what situations she stutters and in what specific way she'll speak in which situation. Besides, her crippling lack of self-esteem really affects character interactions. Regardless, I like Alphys, so I tried my best. At this point, Alphys is still depressed over how much she totally screws everything up, so I imagine it's actually surprising when she does receive actual support. I desperately want to have the correct balance between Alphys being nervous and not being nervous, truly. Anyway, the climax of the show really changed with time: at first, it was straight up going to be a fight with Mettaton EX. Then, it was going to be this situation involving Alphys. After that, it was going to be a fight with Mettaton EX interrupted by Undyne and with Alphys involved, only for it to then become what it now is: a dialogue that was gonna be a fight with Mettaton EX interrupted by Undyne, who Reimu and Mettaton team up to beat before getting interrupted by Alphys. Sounds complicated, huh? ^^' But I've got no regrets, that was awesome.

Again, I could write Reimu for real, and Mettaton teamed up with Reimu just completely enhanced the experience, especially because I wasn't struggling as much to write him. If anything, I feel as though somehow, Mettaton is one of the characters Reimu got the closest to, hahaha. It wasn't my original intent, but I loved it! I also loved how it had to be this team battle, and how both worked off of each other... Everything! Undyne was also cool, but it was a bit harder to write her in the situation she was in. Regardless, Undyne remains intense and full of passion! She thought Reimu actually tricked her and was just some half-assed bitch, so she was fuuuurious. Especially because she lost to her. At least Alphys was there and uuugh no wonder Alphys and Undyne are canon, they really work together. It melted my cold heart ever so slightly to have Undyne's anger be subsided by Alphys, to be honest. Meanwhile, Alphys wants to impress Undyne, so she actually found herself at an impasse where she wanted to stand up for what she believed in but didn't want to go against Undyne, fearing she'd hate her for it. Naturally, it was an unfounded fear and I'm sure Undyne still likes her ^^

It was getting harder and harder and less interesting to write Undyne and Alphys while Mettaton and Reimu were doing nothing, so I cut to them and ended there to prevent boredom. I actually really liked that short conversation between Reimu and Mettaton: it somehow carried a lot to it without being long or intense. Naturally, since I wanted everyone to be able to have a conversation with Reimu, it was Alphys's turn next! Unfortunately, the conversation is more about Reimu and her misunderstandings, albeit ones which she finally got over! Wooo! The moment a fair amount of people were waiting for! Man, am I glad Alphys knows her anime, hahaha, she was so convenient in this scene. And now Reimu knows that these monsters are not youkai in essence.

And that she also has to kill Asgore. The last part was something I liked writing... And that's all I'll say. It was intense for me, in various ways. Hopefully you can all understand, yet not exactly 100% comprehend everything that's behind Reimu's actions at that moment. Anyway, to New Home we go! Look forward to that!


	13. Chapter 13

**First Words:**

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Maybe I'm uploading this too fast, but then again, it'd be pretty cruel of me not to upload the chapter just because it's inconsistent with the huge delays I've been having ^^' So, here you have it, I guess. Not having to answer guest reviews is actually strange, at this point, and that makes me really happy since that means I was used to having people review. In terms of favorites and followers, there was no time for any significant fluctuation since I'm uploading so fast, but I know 1 person followed after I uploaded the last chapter (but it isn't noticeable because another one stopped following). Whatever the case, I had this warning done before, but now that I've finished busying myself with a certain FF, it's no longer necessary so it's no longer here.

Oh, 'what's FF'? I'll give a hint: the second F stands for 'Fiesta'. Putting that aside, in regards to a lot of things in this chapter, I kind of had no choice but to take liberties the more I thought about it because a lot of things don't make as much sense in here as they did in-game. Also, the Froggits didn't ribbit in New Home, but I assume that was a creative liberty from Toby Fox taken so as to not destroy the mood. And, in regards to the rest of the chapter... My body is ready for the Sans debates ='D

Enjoy!

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 **Chapter 13: Sparks of Hope Beneath the Somber Grey**

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Grey walls, grey floor and nothingness. The first impression of what's supposed to be the King's castle, to Reimu, is a rather gloomy one. Even so, Reimu is not in a jolly mood to begin with. Reimu turns the corner without hesitation, and sees before her a landscape of equally grey buildings. This location exudes hopelessness by its appearance alone. Only a slight breeze passes by Reimu, who has now shifted her attention to an elevator off to the left. "Would that take me to the king?" Feeling as though that could be the case, Reimu approaches the elevator and presses the button.

However, nothing happens. Reimu grimaces. _It's not working? What a waste._ Looking towards the side, she takes in the long, long path ahead of her. She isn't even sure whether that path will lead her to the king, but there is no other in sight. _If anything, am I even at the castle?_ Reimu assumes so, but the design doesn't convey this from Reimu's perspective. She sighs, troubled.

She turns to the right and, seeing that she has to turn a corner if she walks, Reimu decides to fly her way over. "Who would even walk through all of this...?" Reimu asks while taking continuous sight of the path she was scarcely following with a troubled frown. Regardless, it does not take long for Reimu to reach the end due to having cut through the corner she would have to turn were she waling, and she finds herself casually landing precisely in front of the entrance to an enclosed room. _This has got to be the castle,_ she mentally remarks, but she still considers it rather monotone and modest for one.

She enters the room, and is run over by a slight tinge of nostalgia. However, she is unsure as to why that would be the case. She continues feeling as though she has seen this before, but the memories are too faint to resurge so conveniently for Reimu. "Is this...?" A familiar house stands before her, though, she notes, something is incredibly 'off' about it. The characteristic lack of color in the area serves to ever so slightly dull the nostalgia she is feeling, even as she approaches the house. She looks down from hearing the sound of dry leaves breaking under her feet; she stepped over them. She is precisely at the middle of the room, which continues having nothing but the house, leaves and a box at the upper right. She would have focused on the box, had the position she is standing in not invoked a considerable remembrance of the past. _A tree was supposed to be here._

 _It was right here in the Ruins,_ Reimu thinks with a pensive frown, though it steadily becomes a cold grimace. She directs her curious, albeit serious gaze towards the house. _Why does this look like the Ruins?_ Reimu is certain this isn't the Ruins, but the similarity is uncanny. With that in mind, Reimu can only draw one conclusion. _The king's related to that monster, huh..._ She takes to moving forward, wishing to get to the bottom of the mystery. Without hesitation, she enters the house, and while she is greeted with an equally familiar entrance and stairs, albeit in a different color, there are plenty of things she also spots which supposedly should not belong in the home she had arrived to.

The path to the stairs is chained shut, supposedly blocking one's passage through it; to Reimu, it holds no meaning. Yellow flowers decorate the monotone surroundings and give them color they so desperately needed, but the melancholy exuding from the area does not dissipate from the change. However, none of that is on Reimu's mind. "Ribbit, ribbit." The uttered sounds of the monster, whose form is similar to a frog's, had drawn Reimu away from the area and towards the considerable amount of monsters seemingly roaming it. The frog monster is looking up at Reimu, as if communicating with her.

Reimu crosses her arms. "What do you want?" The monster continues croaking, assuredly addressing Reimu, but to no avail as she remains confusedly and somewhat frustratingly gazing at the frog monster. "Whatever you want to tell me, I don't understand you."

"Um..." Reimu looks towards her left at once, as if hopeful of some progress in the conversation by the newcomer's appearance. She spots a flying monster of a tiny size fidgeting its way towards Reimu with a moderately distressed expression and hesitantly slow flying speed. "You can't understand Froggit...?" the monster nervously questions.

Reimu vacantly frowns. "What? Am I supposed to?" _Can all monsters speak frog or what?_ The mental image has a smile, albeit an equally vacant one creep on Reimu's features, which serves to further unnerve the monster that had mustered its courage to talk to Reimu, figuring she was in need of help.

"N-not really, but..." The tiny monster awkwardly pauses, as if to try to calm itself down. "Do... Do you want to know?"

Reimu glances at Froggit, who is staring intently at her. "Meow," it suddenly utters. Reimu's face scrunches up in pure confusion at this sound.

"Are you a cat or what?" she questions as she looks back down at Froggit with moderate intensity. For reasons unknown to her, Froggit reddens ever so slightly at the attention. Unsure if she could ever speak with Froggit even if they knew the same language, she turns back to the other monster with a troubled expression on her face. While all monsters had been able to converse with Reimu so far, and Reimu herself hasn't suffered through these sorts of problems in Gensokyo, Froggit presents itself as an exception, and though Reimu has no obligation to care about what a youkai is saying (granted, Froggit is technically not a youkai), she finds it equally unfair not to listen to a monster who is trying to speak with her just because she cannot understand it, especially when, in her opinion, she has always listened to the youkai she has exterminated throughout her entire life (though some would disagree with said opinion). "Anyway, I guess I want to know."

The lackluster, almost disinterested-sounding response from Reimu manages to unsettle the monster somewhat, though it wasn't Reimu's intention. Meanwhile, Froggit croaks in the monster's direction, communicating with it. Awkwardly, the monster turns to Froggit to listen, and slowly faces Reimu again as though hesitating. "Ok, so... Froggit is asking..." In the middle of its unease, the monster pauses once more to gather the little courage it possesses. "If you're going to join the story time or not."

"Huh?" Reimu utters, confused. "What is it talking about?" As far as she can tell, it doesn't seem like this 'story time' would ever be something practical or of use to her, but it sounds suspicious as well, garnering her curiosity.

"You don't know...?" it questions with confusion equal to Reimu's coupled with slight anxiety from the unexpected development.

"I wouldn't be asking if I did." _If I knew it'd be this troublesome having them confuse me with a monster, I wouldn't have allowed Mettaton to trick them at the show,_ Reimu thinks with a disdainful frown only from the fact that she had to needlessly confirm that she, in fact, needs answers. Then, she finds herself briefly wondering how many people did watch Mettaton's show to begin with.

"That's true, but..." The monster looks around in moderate distress, as if requesting someone else's aid. It takes note of the monsters surrounding its immediate area: some of them are speaking to each other, but others are intently staring at Reimu to an eerie extent. There is fear in their gazes, anxiety, even tinges of resentment. In turn, the monster looks back at Reimu in a slightly wary manner, as it seems she is a known figure among certain monsters for an unknown, most likely negative reason.

"Ribbit, ribbit." Froggit speaks to the monster as if to draw its attention, and it promptly succeeds to do so. However, Reimu disapprovingly narrows her eyes in their direction. _What is it talking about with the other monster so secretively? Suspicious..._

The monster dejectedly faces Reimu's general direction. "Because we're one human soul away from leaving the Underground, we honor the prince's memory by gathering together every afternoon to memorize his story... It's so..." The monster shows itself somewhat teary-eyed as it attempts to give Reimu a proper explanation. "It's so we can remember his sacrifice..."

"Ribbit, ribbit," Froggit adds while Reimu, who cannot pay any mind to Froggit's words even if she wanted to processes the implications behind the monster's exposition. _So the King's son is dead, huh... No wonder everything's so gloomy. These monsters are all grieving?_ Reimu looks around the area once more: various monsters of various forms are gathered here, but, truthfully, none seem particularly happy. Some are smiling, perhaps even chatting about something that is supposed to be positive. However, while what is plastered on their faces is a smile, it isn't a reflection of how they truly feel. Even if some of these monsters don't even have discernible expressions, it's clear most who seem remotely pleased are simply faking it for reasons unknown. Reimu thinks back to the monster's words.

"And like Froggit said, the event is also around so we can remember what the humans did to us when we finally leave," the monster meekly says, "Then, we won't have to feel bad about them when the king conquers the surface." This piece of information appears to seamlessly connect to Reimu's current train of thought, and Reimu takes note of it in an especially serious manner.

In a slightly colder fashion than usual, Reimu utters, "Oh yeah, I did hear about something like that." She truthfully had forgotten about it, as it had been a while since she had fought Undyne in the dark, humid caves. In essence, whether she knows or not the king's motivations, the end result is still the same, but in this particular case, that fact is a crucial one. "So, the king's planning on doing something to the humans, right?"

"W-well, yeah..." the monster quietly mutters, its courage fading the more it lingers by Reimu's presence, especially as her gaze is more than neutral at present. "He said he'd destroy humanity."

"And that's related to the story you're talking to me about, isn't it?" Reimu asks, still showing herself strangely serious, especially in comparison to before. Perhaps because it really has a bad feeling about this side of Reimu, or it's simply become too fearful of her, the monster nervously nods. As if to support the monster, Froggit croaks, but Reimu does not react to the action. "But, in the end, it's not really related to you, is it?"

The monster is taken aback by the question, along with the sheer weirdness of Reimu, and takes many moments to even decide on whether it should conjure a response for her or not. It can identify a strange lack of common sense from Reimu, but it isn't sure if that in itself is enough to fear her, though that is, ironically, the part that he's already fearing the most about her; these complicated feelings haunt the monster. Regardless, Reimu is only asking a question. The monster gulps, and glances at Froggit, who has, at this point, become a reassuring presence. "Um, I wasn't really alive for it, but... We believe in the king, so w-we support him," it apprehensively says, its voice somewhat strained, "I mean, w-wouldn't you...?"

... Incomprehensively enough for the monster, Reimu smiles. "That's a stupid question." Staring straight at the monster, who promptly averts its gaze from her, Reimu assumes a fighting stance. Froggit steps back ever so slightly, exceedingly surprised at this yet unperceivable turn of events. "After all, anyone who threatens my home's balance is my enemy! So, if your king really feels that and only that, he's unforgivable, no matter what made him be that way!" Reimu assertively exclaims towards every single monster in the room, rather than just the two she is talking with. In reaction to such a loud, intimidating tone of voice, the monster in front of her flies away at full speed with a whimper, towards the stairway. Despite this, Reimu doesn't watch it as it does so, instead focusing on the Froggit that has remained in the area. While it seems fearful of Reimu, it wishes to understand her feelings, so it makes an effort to face Reimu. Concerned for this Froggit's wellbeing, two others hop to its side, croaking at it worriedly. "And by the looks of it, you all need to get exterminated, too! So you better get ready! This eerie story time of yours is over!"

 **'*Story time is over! And it's all your fault.'**

Rather than the screen in front of her, which she considers commonplace at this point, Reimu is noting the direction which the monster that had been talking to her flew towards, which, she reminisces, is the same path Reimu had to take to reach Snowdin. Besides, since the other two paths would lead to dead ends and Reimu is currently blocking the house's exit from her position near the door, it can only be wise to assume that the stairs lead to the castle proper. Having concluded this, Reimu figures she can shift her concerns back to the multitude of monsters she is about to beat.

Reimu's smile widens. All monsters show themselves distressed before her.

No longer does the area exude gloom.

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 **. . .**

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The afternoon sky of Gensokyo dyes itself darker and darker with the passing of time, but it isn't this that lingers on Youmu's mind as she makes her way towards the Hakurei Shrine. "How ominous..." she remarks as she looks behind her, at the scenery most in Gensokyo are focused on. However, her goals do not lie with it, so she easily decided to avoid it.

"Not in a partying mood?" Youmu immediately faces her right for a voice she knows she can recognize. "What's a Netherworlder like you doing 'round these parts if not to join the parade, hm? I've seen ghosts mixed up in there, too." Her horned figure and short stature, along with the gourd she is grasping make her unmistakable: Suika Ibuki is the one that spoke up to Youmu. Her demeanor is remarkably casual, and she is wearing a conversational smile in her decidedly drunken features, but a glint of curiosity is clearly visible in her gaze as she approaches Youmu.

"I've my own circumstances, you see," Youmu responds in an awkward fashion, as she continues processing that, out of all entities she could have come across, she ran into Suika, the Oni. "I don't have the time for something like that now. If anything, I'd ask you the same question."

Suika's smile widens. "Guess you'd expect me to be the cause like last time, huh? But nope, it wasn't me this time around." She then proceeds to drink directly from her gourd as she nonchalantly glances behind her. "Thing is, like you, I've got some circumstances right in the same direction you were flying towards. I figured you were going to the shrine, too, so I stopped you."

Youmu tenses and grimaces as she sharply looks at Suika. "Why would you stop me?"

"'cause I thought you might have the answers I'm looking for," Suika responds while ignoring Youmu's defensive stance. "Since that new mountain's shown up, I've been gathering an awful lot of rumors from the sidelines. Out of them all, there's this particularly off-putting rumor about Reimu that I just had to check up on for myself. But, if you happen to already know if it's true, I could just ask you without going and get all my circumstances done much faster. So, is Reimu actually missing?"

At the question, Youmu finds herself relaxing; it doesn't seem as though she has to fight Suika. The prospect is not pleasant, and Youmu hopes her business is finished soon. "The rumor is true: Reimu is missing." Suika shows no visible reaction to this confirmation, almost as if she has been expecting it. Youmu notes this, but does not find it particularly surprising as well. "I've heard this from Marisa, and I was about to see if I could join her in her search, but I don't know where she is."

Suika's eyes widen ever so slightly. "Oh, Marisa's searching for her? Nice!" she lightly remarks with a grin, as if refreshed by the information. "You don't look like you're lying, so just out of curiosity, why're you wanting to search for Reimu?"

"I think Marisa is able to do it by herself, but I've been ordered by Lady Yuyuko to join her. Besides, it's rather strange that someone like Reimu would go missing," Youmu plainly answers, "so I would like to get to the bottom of this."

Suika stares straight at Youmu for a while before stretching her arms contentedly. "That so?" she asks in an easygoing manner as she faces the horizon beyond Youmu. "Well, you look kind of stressed, so how about I find you both Marisa and Reimu in one go and finish off our circumstances so we can have a drink down at the shrine? You'll feel better for sure."

Youmu widens her eyes in pure surprise at Suika's proposal. "You can do that?" she questions, still skeptic in the middle of her shock.

"'Course I can! I find them, then we tell Marisa about it, retrieve Reimu and have our own party at the shrine! Better than having your sake spill all the way down from the sky, right? If four's still too lonely for ya, I could always gather everybody," Suika excitedly explains, almost as if she is already imagining the aftermath of her plan, "As long as I'm around, it'll be no problem!"

Youmu awkwardly stares at Suika, as if expecting Suika to retract her statements, but she reminds herself of the fact that Oni do not lie. "That would be extremely convenient," Youmu says, "so I guess I'll join in on this plan of yours."

Suika grins. "That's the spirit!" she exclaims as she raises the arm holding her gourd in cheer. "You stay right there, 'cause I'll be back in no time."

"Wait, so I don't need to do anything?" Youmu confusedly asks, unsure if she should feel disappointed or relieved at this.

"Not yet, at least," Suika responds in a nonchalant fashion. "You should be thinking about that stuff later, phantom! For now, just look forward to the sake! See ya!" Without leaving Youmu any time to protest, or even to answer her, Suika's form immediately disperses into a mist she has equally been familiar with from the incident she had orchestrated and been involved with many years ago. This dark mist spreads throughout the sky and courses through a great portion of Gensokyo at an astoundingly swift rate as it falls lower and lower towards the ground.

Staring down at this sight is a lone Youmu, wondering if she truly should be waiting for this whimsical Oni or not.

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 **. . .**

* * *

At this point, Reimu has not even any awareness of where she is walking towards. She roamed the kitchen, the rooms and eventually descended the stairs of New Home in search of her next victims, all unconscious and in awe of the mere slight sting of pain felt by the amulets she had thrown, all of them of a power much weaker than normal. This is a given, as Reimu has realized these monsters are not youkai. Therefore, she had been able to conclude that she could not simply fight seriously against creatures of the Underground and sealed most of the power of her amulets. While the monsters had been afraid, weakened in result of this, the equally weakened versions of Reimu's attacks serve to leave them alive, and even at the corridor she currently traverses, fewer in monsters, they think of whether, in the end, Reimu's attack was a mere joke or prank rather than anything dangerous.

What was it, truly...? What compelled her to off each and every one of their melancholy souls, all the while wearing such an innocent smile on her face?

The very last monster to be downed by only one of Reimu's amulets was another Froggit, and it rests on a wall to the right while gazing upon Reimu's back. To its surprise, Reimu stops in her tracks and wearily sighs. "I guess this is all of them..." Then, she turns around, as if to marvel at her own chaos. Some monsters seen in the hallway are leaving the premises while staring at the lone amulet they had removed from their person, and others are staring back at Reimu, but Reimu does not linger for long on any of them. "You better have started thinking twice about the surface, you hear me?! Even if you have your circumstances, your deeds are wrong! Rather than supporting a shady cause like this, do something productive with your lives!"

With that, she faces the opposite way again, but now with an uneasy smile. _I wandered here all by myself with all this, but am I actually getting to the castle...?_ "Geez, what a maze," Reimu mutters as she frowns, troubled. In the horizon, she sees another corridor, but its appearance is far from the depressing monotone of the previous rooms. Golden hues brighten the tall corridor, and thick pillars delineate a path forward while casting shadows upon the room, contrasting with the light gently pouring from the windows. While Reimu is about to question the use for windows in the dark Underground, she comes across something of far greater urgency.

A lone figure stands square in the middle of the corridor, with the pillars' shadows obscuring its appearance ever so slightly. From afar, it's only vaguely visible. "Who's there?" Reimu asks as she picks up her pace in walking forward, through the corridor. The closer she gets, the clearer she can see just so who is blocking her path. Her eyebrows raise in slight surprise and confusion. "Sans...?" There is no doubt in her mind, even despite her question: the monster in front of her is Sans. Sans's eye sockets are hollow, and while his grin remains in place, his expression does not indicate joy. "What are you doing here?"

 **"Ｒｅｉｍｕ．．．"**

The considerable differences in his voice surprise Reimu once again, as he did not sound remotely like his usual, casual self. While she faintly remembers moments when the tone of the conversation would be changed by Sans suddenly becoming remarkably serious, Reimu can only wonder what can warrant not only that, but the first time he refers to her by name. "W-what's wrong...?" Reimu awkwardly questions with a grimace, unsure as to how to react to this particular situation.

White pupils return to Sans's eye sockets, and he winks. "congrats," he says, "you just killed the moment."

Confused, Reimu crosses her arms. "Was something supposed to happen here?"

"yep. and you killed it," he plainly responds. "and here i was gonna say good things about ya. looks like my judgment was wrong all along."

"Really, what's your point? You're wasting my time here." Reimu grimaces, displeased at what she perceives to be nonsense from Sans's part.

"still in a hurry, huh?" As Sans briefly pauses, Reimu takes note of a slight breeze coursing through the corridor, one she did not think she would be able to feel from the castle. Even now, she wonders if she truly has reached the correct location. Though it's a slight movement of something as hard as bones, Reimu sees Sans's eye sockets narrow. "guess that's how much you care about home. but, hey. you've already wasted so much time in the underground. can't you waste some more on one last talk?" Reimu stares directly at Sans for a moment, as if to scrutinize his intentions. "c'mon, buddy. we've gone through a lot together. the least you can do is hear me out before you get to asgore."

As if in resignation, Reimu dejectedly shrugs. "You know, this is the second time I'm doing a favor for you," Reimu points out in a bitter manner, "so you should be thankful." Whatever it happens to be, Sans's business seems to be of considerable importance, or so Reimu was able to conclude with her intuition. While Reimu is truly raring to meet the king of the Underground, she decides she may as well have this final conversation with Sans.

"heh. don't worry," Sans responds, "i am." Then, he looks around, as if to scout the surroundings. "too bad there aren't any chairs in this place. looks like you'll just have to stand around and hear me talk. or fly and hear me talk." Sans winks. "whatever floats your bones."

Reimu grimaces, having taken note of his joke. "I've done plenty of that already in your case," she retorts, "There's no point in caring about it now."

"if you say so." Reimu crosses her arms and only quietly stands in place, clearly awaiting further dialogue from Sans. For a moment, Sans's eye sockets close, as if he were briefly deep in thought. They open again, and his demeanor seems unchanged. "so. i'm sure you noticed your soul poppin' out of you every time you get into battle here. it only happens to you, after all."

"You're going to tell me why I'm different?" Reimu questions, curious. She hasn't truly given her battles much thought, only taking them in stride, but it does happen to be a topic of interest for Reimu. "Couldn't you have just told me about that while we were at Grillby's, too?"

Sans shrugs. "what can i say? it just wasn't the right time for that talk. you know, when a human gets this far, i've gotta be there no matter what. let's just say it's another one of my jobs. so, in the end, we were always meant to have this conversation. thought i might as well make the most of it." Reimu narrows her eyes, but assumes Sans will speak further and clear her doubts, so she remains silent. "now. about your soul coming out. you know that humans are stronger than monsters, right? you've realized that already. so, in this battle system we got, we decided to give you a handicap. you might be sturdy on the outside, but your soul's different. it's easier to beat. if we aim for that, we have some chances against you. at least, that's the gist of it. barely any monster knows about that at this point."

"By the way you're talking about it, it's almost like you devised the whole battle system," Reimu remarks, but it's clear she is seriously thinking of the possibility, and voiced said remark precisely to get to the bottom of that mental inquiry.

"me? heh." Sans's eye sockets close in an almost somber fashion. "it wasn't me." Then, as if to lighten up the mood, he winks. "good guess though. anyway, the whole reason the system even exists is to check up on what the humans who fall in here are doing. eventually, it spread to all monsters. it was more convenient that way. king thinks it's safer, too." Sans lightly shrugs. "basically, if you get into a battle, i'll know. and after knowing, i check if your EXP's gone up or not. what's EXP? it's an acronym. it stands for 'execution points'." Reimu's gaze grows entirely cold. "a way to quantify the pain you've inflicted on others. when you kill someone, your EXP increases. when you have enough EXP, your LOVE increases. LOVE, too, is an acronym. it stands for 'level of violence'. a way of measuring someone's capacity to kill."

"Why are you telling me this?" Reimu asks, interrupting Sans without hesitation. She had held various suspicions in regards to Sans for a good portion of the time she had spent in the Underground; she had spoken to him more times than expected. However, it hadn't occurred to Reimu that Sans could perhaps be a much more dangerous existence to her goals than any other monster she encountered until this very conversation. The implications seem clear for Reimu: he is an ally of the king.

Said ally of the king happens to be exposing information that Reimu should supposedly have no business knowing. "it's what i always do. i know i don't look it right now," Sans nonchalantly affirms in great contrast to Reimu's rising tense stance, "but i'm supposed to be judging you. through your EXP and LOVE, i'm supposed to judge just how dangerous you really are. but, as far as i can tell..." Despite the logical conclusions she had reached before, she observes Sans's demeanor: though especially serious despite the casual tone he is assuming, Reimu sees no ill will in it or his words; in fact, she senses precisely the opposite. She takes this in with sheer curiosity as she relaxes, even if her gaze remains entirely focused on Sans. "i've got nothing to worry about here."

Reimu blinks, slightly surprised. However, as if she had been insulted, Reimu then frowns indignantly. "Are you underestimating me? Your perception of danger must be rotten."

"is it? maybe it is." Sans lightly shrugs, though his gaze is ever so slightly dismissive, directed towards the side as if to avoid a surging train of thought. Even so, Sans's grin remains in place, and his stance is nothing more than casual; perhaps too casual for the situation. "but there were no mistakes in my judgment. after all, you never gained any LOVE, no matter what hardships you faced. even though you're so desperate to get back home, you haven't killed a single monster throughout the whole journey. what's more, you tried to help them in your own way, without ever forgetting your main goal."

Reimu crosses her arms and bitterly grimaces. "Hmph..." She is no longer looking directly at Sans, as she had been before in order to scrutinize his intentions. Reimu has already concluded she had never made a single mistake in her initial judgment either: Sans does not stand in her way. Rather, her mind is now more occupied processing Sans's words, which serve to ever so slightly fluster her. "I just exterminated the monsters in my way."

"it's not like you couldn't have killed them if they posed an actual threat," Sans remarks before pensively closing his eye sockets. "it wouldn't have been your first time killing someone." Reimu snaps her focus back to Sans, whose ominous statement strikes her as unwarranted, even if it had been a correct guess; Sans somehow takes Reimu's exceedingly cold gaze in stride. "but they were never truly in your way. even the monsters from New Home you beat were just minding their business. you could've left them alone to repeat the same old story over and over and it would've made no difference. that's not what you did, though. you knew they were just running away from reality. that they weren't happy at all doing what they were doing. so you went wild and gave 'em a taste of fear. nobody asked you to. but you went out of your way to destroy their gloomy mood, even if the method wasn't all that conventional."

... Reimu looks towards a pillar to her left, as though to avoid Sans. "Y-you won't get anything out of me by saying things like that, you know? You're just wasting time at this rate." Despite that, Reimu shows no other signs of impatience, and takes no step forward so as to leave. In fact, she barely even appears the slightest bit irritated at Sans.

"i guess i am. if you're on your way to the surface, there won't be any meaning to anything i'm telling you right now. but you also know that, don't you?" Sans winks, something Reimu catches note of only from the lightest of glances in his direction, which further asserts her wish to avoid any more direct eye (?) contact with Sans. "and you stuck around for this bone-ly skeleton anyway." The joke has no effect on Reimu, surprisingly enough: neither amusement nor displeasure surges from her, especially as she finds herself intent on listening to Sans for the time being. In the beginning, Reimu saw Sans's jokes as unnecessary things to deal with, but now, this is not a notion stuck in her mind.

Still, Reimu does not face Sans. "you might not have anything to do with the Underground at all. this whole journey might've had no impact on you whatsoever. but, uh. still. it wasn't so bad havin' someone like you fall down here, for a change." Though Reimu did not see this, it would've been clear to all that the grin he always wears carries a much more genuine presence after Sans uttered such words, originated from the true positivity of the situation. "welp. i shouldn't be holdin' you here any longer. i'd have told you to throw in the towel and stay in the underground, but you're not any ordinary human. you think your home's more important than your life. so, instead, you'll have to go through something much more difficult than that." Sans points to the corridor's exit, opposite of the way Reimu had come from. "if you go past here, you'll find asgore. then, you'll have to kill him and use his soul in order to cross the barrier. if you don't, you'll die by asgore and let us all free. but your mind's made up already. i'm pretty sure there's nothing i need to tell you at this point."

"Actually, there is." Reimu finally faces Sans, no longer flustered, but her expression does not indicate a casual demeanor. "You look like you know a lot about the Underground, so I'll ask this once," Reimu assertively utters, while Sans expectantly stares straight at her, as if to figure what exactly her intents are before she even speaks of them. "Does the king want my soul for the monsters' sake, or his own?"

The question sinks into the corridor's silence for a few moments, as Reimu awaits a response with a convicted gaze. It almost feels as though Reimu is the one judging Sans this time around, even if the topic pertains the king. Sans's eye sockets close. "who knows? in the end, you've still got two choices and two choices only. it's not like knowing where the king stands will change anything for you. maybe it'll even make things harder. but then again. if you're asking something like that, it probably already is. but you know what you have to do deep down. you're just overthinkin' it for no good reason." Then, perhaps in an attempt to lighten Reimu's strangely serious mood and soften her unwaveringly focused eyes, Sans winks. "and that's no good, buddy. didn't i tell you to do what you always do? just be the gutsy human you've always been and you'll be fine. there's no need to worry about us anymore. not when you're so close to home."

 **. . .**

Reimu's frown deepens in an ever so slightly bitter fashion. Then, in resignation, she sighs. "Is that so?" Faintly, she smiles. "Well, I suppose you're right for once. For a skeleton, you sure have a good eye." Reimu's smile widens, mischievously so, as she finds pride in her own joke despite the mood. Sans, too, momentarily shows himself more pleased than usual at this through another wink, as Reimu seems to be in particularly higher spirits now. "Just as you've said, I was hung up on something that didn't matter at all. Not that I ever needed your wake up call. I probably would've gone the same path no matter the answer you gave me, to be honest."

"see? just like i told you. your mind's made up already. there's nothing you had to learn from me or this journey in the first place," Sans says in a remarkably light, conversational manner, almost as if the topic were nothing heavy or important. "to be honest, i don't know what you're still doin' here. didn't you want to get things over with as fast as possible?"

Reimu crosses her arms, almost as if troubled, but she remains with a smile on her face, unwilling to fade. "You're one to talk," Reimu retorts, "If you hadn't been holding me here with your conversation, I would've been facing the king already."

"welp. you're free to go now." Sans steps aside, as if to give Reimu the proper space to move through the corridor. "so what're you waitin' for?"

Reimu begins to step forward, towards the corridor's exit opposite of her, without hesitation. "I was going to leave even if you didn't say that, you know? I don't have any more time to waste on you, after all. I'm busy right now." Reimu only glances at Sans as she passes by him, and shows no signs of slowing down.

Sans turns around to see Reimu as she leaves. "you and me both, buddy. i'm supposed to be watchin' out for humans in snowdin. can't waste the naps i could be taking on the job for you anymore." Reimu does not look back, though it's clear she can hear and is still listening to Sans. "so, uh. anyway. see you around, reimu."

Finally, and suddenly, Reimu stops treading forward. "I almost forgot..." Reimu rummages through her bag with her right hand, which had passed her Purification Rod onto her left. Within mere moments, Reimu takes out her phone, the phone Papyrus had given her, and raises her arm so Sans can see it.

"Going back to Snowdin is too troublesome now that I'm all the way over here," Reimu says, "so tell Papyrus I'll give everything back to him on the other side."

Genuine, though faint confusion reveals itself on Sans's end. Unbeknownst to him, Reimu is knowingly smirking as she lazily waves at him from behind with the very same arm holding the phone and resumes her path towards the king.

Afterwards, Reimu's back is only faintly seen from afar, as she has already left the corridor. Confusion transforms into realization.

"heh..." Perhaps the alternatives he had presented to Reimu had not been the only ones available to her; perhaps she had always been acting with that notion in mind. The fact that Reimu had truthfully managed to make him think that only adds further meaning to her words. "heh heh heh..."

For the first time in uncountable ages, Sans feels as though he may be able to look forward to something.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

It's finally done, take that! I DID IT! And maaaaan... This ending. This ending right here made it impossible for me to add a Touhou scene I planned on putting right after that scene, but I don't care. I can manage if it's to keep this ending! Anyway, before I go on a huge rant about the stand-out scene of the chapter, let's talk about the first scene with Suika! Oh yes, she made it in this story. If anything, it was part of my plan to have her around from the very beginning. There were characters like Miko who I didn't think would gain much importance to the plot before including them, but then there was Suika, a character pivotal to the resolution of everything I was setting up. Rather than asking "hey, what about Yukari?", you should've been asking "hey, what about Suika?" because Suika's ability is pretty convenient. It's basically cheating if we think Marisa and the others are going to look for Reimu the hard way.

Also, Suika's fun to write. ZUN has this thing where he changes a good chunk of his characterization on the second time any character appears, so while Suika was waaaaay childish in Touhou 7.5, where she first appeared, she's less so in Touhou 10.5, where she appeared again. Her speech patterns are completely different, and she has a more down-to-earth feel to her in Touhou 10.5 conversely to her first appearance, where she was girlier and more childish. Naturally, I decided to go with Touhou 10.5 Suika since that's probably how ZUN sees her, and I had fun writing that. There is this really easygoing, carefree demeanour to Suika which I think stems from how strong she knows she is that really makes her a nice, refreshing character. I mean, unlike Aya, who's much "heavier" and darker as a character, Suika is more simple, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have anything to her; just that she's a more carefree person. The way she basically just wanted to party on the shrine after finding Reimu and not much else really put a smile on my face lol especially because Youmu's all confused like "wait whut really" while interacting with Suika. Suika and Youmu are an odd pair, so having them talk to each other was kind of awkward, but I kind of had to make it possible; this is what fanfiction is for! For interactions you'd never see in the original source! Not that they never spoke to each other, though. Whatever the case, how will things go now that Suika's also involved with everything?

Who knows. What we do know is that Reimu... Does the exact same thing she's always done yet again, I'm so sorry! There's literally no helping it, how am I supposed to make her care about a random story, even if it's tied to the king? I couldn't! It isn't like Reimu doesn't like stories, but she's in incident-solving mode! If a monster goes up to her like "yo look at this story" it'll be translated in Reimu's mind as "yo you wanna go fgt" and I can't do anything about it! Besides, Reimu just sort of feels more natural when she's beating stuff up. That's a considerable chunk of what Reimu's all about, really. By the way, she got first place on this year's popularity poll (Koishi had it on last year's; edit: actually, I think it was two years ago but whatever) and she deserves it, man. In my first years as a Touhou fan, I'd always get kind of upset at Reimu taking first place because I didn't really find Reimu all that great, but she is. I really like her, especially because she's basically irreplaceable: there's only one Reimu Hakurei; there isn't a character around that is just like Reimu. She isn't my favorite character, but I recognize that she is also an especially great character in the Touhou series. Reimu has a lot more to her than I could ever think up, and I feel that everybody who encounters her can see that, too. The monsters can see that, but they don't know what to do about it. Just who is Reimu? Not even I consider myself prepared to give a good response to that question.

I wanted the trip through New Home to be a more somber one, while the part with the monsters would lift the mood a notch. However, when I got to the monsters, I didn't really see much I could do: I could have Reimu talk to them... Yeah. Even if she listened to the story, it wouldn't actually matter much to Reimu. As such, I decided to put the focus somewhere else. I focused on Reimu defeating the monsters in general; on the mystery of Reimu... And the transition to her scene with Sans. Oh, you cannot simply imagine how long I waited for this specific scene. Ever since the first two chapters, I was thinking about this scene in New Home. The feeling only intensified by Chapter 9, since that conversation was really good. Naturally, I was hyped for it. I really, really wanted to write Reimu talking to Sans at the end, who would judge her.

... But it somehow wasn't going so well. The first part? Piece of cake; nothing to worry about. The rest? It made me curse Sans's name. I think it's because I was rusty when it came to writing Sans (that and I wasn't in the best state of mind to write) but I just kept getting stuck. Either he was being too serious, or he was being too enigmatic, or I just wasn't getting his way of speaking right for some reason. Like, I had a decent grasp of Sans's character, but I was facing the problem I had with Mettaton where there was this tiny something I didn't feel I was getting right. Then, days passed and I re-read what I wrote and found that some of it wasn't that bad, so I wrote the rest off of there and eventually got the conversation going again. To be honest, I'm also pretty proud of this one. I think I was able to express a believable sort of judgment from Sans in relation to Reimu's character, and it carried the complexity of both Reimu and Sans well. However, I might just be wrong and screwed up somewhere, but the thought alone makes me want to cry in a corner ;_; Still, I think there will be people who will think Reimu isn't deserving of such a judgment and that she isn't all that great, but I think there've been more canon sources proving that she is a good person than otherwise. Furthermore, I reckon Sans would've been able to observe this from Reimu through the time she spent in the Underground. They ended up sort of knowing each other, both being distant bastards, but it was still a worthwhile experience, even despite its lack of meaning; lack of substance, perhaps...? Either way, I found that scene also worthwhile and a good way to have Reimu part ways with not only Sans, but the Underground she had come to know to face the king.

Only by the very end does Reimu mention the leg warmers and phone. While she had almost forgotten, I'd always remembered the leg warmers. Thought I didn't? I totally did. At first, I was going to have Reimu hand them over to Sans directly, but nah. This way is better. If you came from the previous chapter and read the conversations Reimu had with Mettaton well, I'm pretty sure you can get to a good conclusion as to what exactly Reimu is implying with her final words. By now, Reimu is resolute. She knows what she's going to do, and she'll do it. However, even more than Reimu's words, Sans in general hit harder at the end, huh? When you happen to know that most effort is in vain because stuff will probably be reset anyway, you don't tend to truly look forward to things. Would he ever truly leave the Underground? Or would the prospect crumble before him the moment he saw that he was back at the very beginning again? Might as well give up before getting attacked by your own hopes.

However, Reimu is an anomaly. Someone whose existence doesn't truly belong in the Underground. She may just have a way. At one point, you can only wonder what would come of Reimu, and what this "way" is; if it'll work at all. Will it...? Well, one can only look forward to the results. Reimu is to see the king next. I do wonder how Asgore will fare under the sight of Reimu.

Well, it won't be pretty, at least that I know.


	14. Chapter 14

**First Words:**

* * *

 **Crash01 - Um, because he didn't need to...? ^^' He wasn't really talking to her so he could give her a scare this time around. This review is of Chapter 9 but since it's a guest review, I kinda have to respond here. Hopefully that's not too bothersome! Whatever the case, thank you for reviewing!**

Since the last chapter, this story got 9 favorites and 13 followers! Man, it's ever so satisfying that it's gotten much harder to count these numbers ^^' Whatever the case, _perhaps you remember what I wrote before?_ If you don't, it's fine; it's no longer there anyway. Everything's gotten into place now. _  
_

With that in mind, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 14: The Meaning Behind Their Showdown  
**

* * *

The Hakurei Shrine.

Populated mostly by heavy silence and afternoon sunlight, it rests without its shrine maiden, unguarded. The lack of visitors decreases the sense of urgency behind Reimu's disappearance, as no human villager has stepped towards it so far to spread the news around the people. In fact, the concern of the humans is now directed to the sky far above, away from the mountain.

Conversely, to Miko, the sky is but a secondary priority. Traversing through it herself, only after reaching the shrine's grounds does she smoothly land and confirm the surroundings she has observed mid-air already. _No particular signs of struggle..._ Calmly, Miko heads for the shrine's entrance before smiling ever so slightly. "I suppose one could call this trespassing," she lightly remarks as she enters, taking in the unchanged interior of the shrine.

"I would!" Miko turns to her left in immediate reaction to the unknown, high-pitched voice, only to find what seems to be a small box; a mallet rests on top of it. "But I didn't think the criminal herself would admit it so easily!" With an ever so slightly surprised expression on her face, Miko walks towards the box and squats. "Now, hand yourself over so I can question you! You look suspicious, so I bet you know what happened to Reimu!"

Miko continues to stare at Shinmyoumaru, who she can see flailing her arms around in a lively fashion. "Could you be the one Marisa was talking about...?" she faintly questions, her gaze now brimming with curiosity rather than surprise. Her chin rests on her right hand while she scrutinizes Shinmyoumaru's presence with great fascination, leaving Shinmyoumaru to grimace.

Feeling as though underestimated, Shinmyoumaru shouts, "Hey! I'm the one who'll ask the questions n— Huh?" However, after actually processing the entirety of Miko's inquiry, Shinmyoumaru's expression represents only deep confusion and slight disappointment. Shinmyoumaru disdainfully frowns. "Oh, so Marisa sent you? Tch, and here I thought I caught the mastermind..."

Miko continues to stare at her with slight awe and great curiosity, still surprised over the strange, yet not negative turn of events. "To think that the supposed temporary resident of the shrine would be this small..."

Shinmyoumaru defensively steps back with a scowl. "W-well, of course I'm small! I'm a member of the proud inchling race! Is there any problem?!" Truthfully, Shinmyoumaru is fearful of Miko, whose fascination is more than awkward to her; who knows what she could plan to do with her? Regardless, she feigns courage and stands her ground in face of Miko, who calms herself and gives her the equivalent of an apologetic, small bow with only a slight, elegant nod of her head.

"A descendant of Sukuna-Hikona, then; I see... How surprising. Regardless, do excuse my reaction," Miko politely responds as she smiles down at Shinmyoumaru. "I had simply never thought I would come across one such as yourself, especially at the Hakurei Shrine. Though, as intriguing as this find is, I've other goals." Miko looks down at the floor and slowly but gracefully settles on sitting down despite her hesitation, figuring that the cushions of the shrine were likely of the same level of cleanliness. "According to Marisa, you have been living in this shrine. Is this true?" Miko has no such doubts, having been able to see through Marisa had she been lying, but she finds some merit in testing how cooperative Shinmyoumaru will be in her endeavors.

Skeptic, and still in slight fear, Shinmyoumaru nods. "Sure, but who are you, anyway? Haven't you ever learned to introduce yourself before talking?" she questions in order to see Miko's reaction, uncertain of her nature.

Miko's polite smile widens in amusement. "Ah, forgive me," Miko says without any signs of guilt or regret, "I suppose I was too distracted _sizing you_ _up_." While Miko winks, Shinmyoumaru frowns as if resisting the urge to cringe. "I am Toyosatomimi no Miko, and I have come to this shrine in order to gather clues on Reimu's disappearance. Surely you would be willing to cooperate with my cause?"

"Gather clues? But Marisa's already talked to me," Shinmyoumaru confusedly states.

"I know." Shinmyoumaru only grimaces, perplexed further by what she sees as Miko's strange thought processes. "However, I feel as though there is still much more you could reveal about Reimu's whereabouts, provided you answer my questions." Miko's serious, though confident gaze and expression serve to ease Shinmyoumaru into the fact that Miko is most likely speaking the truth, as she seems genuinely intent on finding out about Reimu's disappearance.

Shinmyoumaru relaxes ever so slightly and dejectedly frowns towards Miko. "Will that help you find Reimu?"

Miko processes the sadness evident in Shinmyoumaru in regards to the current circumstances, one which she had equally caught in others such as Marisa, and proceeds to give Shinmyoumaru a calm smile. "Marisa is already doing all she can on that end. You must believe in her, instead. I, for one, am sure she will bring results." Shinmyoumaru's eyes widen, and she thinks back to her conversation with Marisa. She, too, believed in her own efforts. Shinmyoumaru looks towards Miko with a more resolute stance, though she remains uneasy. "As for myself, I aim to know what caused Reimu's disappearance to begin with, and I am certain your cooperation will aid me."

"Why would you think that?" Shinmyoumaru asks. "I couldn't help Marisa."

"Well..." Miko pensively narrows her eyes and assumes a more serious, calm expression. "There is one thing Marisa had forgotten to bring to your attention. While it's evident not even you know of Reimu's location, you must at least know of Reimu before she left the shrine."

Shinmyoumaru's eyebrows furrow in confusion as she attempts to ponder on Miko's words. "And...?"

"And, I would like for you to tell me about that specifically, as it would provide me with clues," Miko explains, unwilling to elaborate only because she wishes to make her visit quick. "How was Reimu before she left? If you spoke, what did she tell you specifically? Was there anything odd or unusual about her at the time?"

"Woah, slow down, one question at the time!" Shinmyoumaru exclaims in protest while waving her arms around. Then, she awkwardly frowns. "So, you want to know what happened before Reimu left, right? I remember that! She woke up later than me and had tea for breakfast." Shinmyoumaru cheekily shrugs, as if reminding herself of something hopeless. "Nobody ever goes up to Reimu with incidents but Marisa, so she was complaining about being poor. I suggested ideas, but she shot me down without even thinking about them! Then, she went out to sweep the shrine grounds because of the Autumn leaves everywhere and came back in seconds looking all serious. When I asked her what was up, she ranted about a mountain showing up all of a sudden, and how she was going to take down the troublemakers who did this."

Miko thoughtfully hums. "That does seem very Reimu-like so far..."

"Right? I said I wanted to come with her, but she shot me down again and told me I should just watch over the shrine while she's gone since I'd only get in her way. I got really mad, but I couldn't say anything else to her because she ran out of the shrine and left right after telling me that. In the end, I just stuck around, waiting for her to come back until Marisa showed up. If I knew any of this was gonna happen, I would've stopped her!" Shinmyoumaru claims as though to clear herself of any suspicion while she reminisces on the event, which sours her mood.

Meanwhile, Miko's mood, too, is being soured by the lack of any relevant information presented by Shinmyoumaru's testimony. Miko is certain Shinmyoumaru is being truthful, but said truth holds nothing of interest for her, and reaching another standstill in her plans disappoints and displeases her greatly. Miko grimaces. "And you are absolutely certain you saw nothing off about Reimu that morning?"

Shinmyoumaru indignantly crosses her arms. "Do you think I'm lying?"

"I am only urging you to see whether there is something that's slipped your mind about Reimu or not," Miko calmly elaborates, though her displeasure leaves her in a less than calm state. "Are you certain there is nothing in particular to point out in regards to Reimu when she was still in the shrine?"

"As far as I can tell..." Shinmyoumaru pauses to consider the matter further, noting that Miko seems angry. "Reimu was kind of drowsy when she woke up, but that's how she's always like, and she seemed fine at breakfast... If had to mention anything, I guess it'd be that Reimu still looked sleepy even after breakfast. That's the time when she's usually got energy, but it was like she could fall asleep at any moment back then."

"Oh?"

Seeing Miko appear this intrigued after being offered that piece of information, Shinmyoumaru's mood lightens up ever so slightly as she could conclude she had told Miko something useful. "I figured she didn't sleep well last night so I didn't find it weird, but now that I think about it, Reimu only started looking that groggy a while after breakfast, when we were still just talking. She never said anything about it either, so I don't think she even noticed. Besides, she was raring to go solve the incident when she found out about it." Without any warning, Miko stands up, startling Shinmyoumaru, who flinches. "Wh-what? Was that actually a big deal?"

"Reimu drank tea this morning, correct?" Miko questions as she looks to the side, towards other rooms of the shrine. "A 'big deal' would not be enough to describe the implications behind your testimony. If proven true, Reimu's disappearance will take a much more dangerous form than all of us hoped for."

"Hey, what do you mean?!" Shinmyoumaru shouts in distress, fearing that she would be less audible by Miko now that has stood up. "Stop being all vague about this!"

While Miko was going to turn Shinmyoumaru's way once again to at least give her a brief response in the midst of her hastiness, she hears a faint sound and instead looks specifically towards a closed door further down a hallway. This door was not closed the last time Miko had seen it; she notices this immediately. "Wait," Miko ordered. "Someone is here."

"What?!"

Miko provides Shinmyoumaru with no response, and instead quickly moves towards the closed door and slides it open without hesitation. "Show yourselves, trespassers!" She enters the room, but finds no visible entity in the premises. Her hands are directed almost instinctively to the sheath of the sword hanging by her waist, and she wastes no time drawing it ever so slightly. Bright, blinding light pours from the sword, only partly taken out of its sheath, and instantly covers Miko's surroundings, as she expected.

"Ugh, so bright...!" an unfamiliar voice remarks in clear displeasure.

Meanwhile, another gasps. "Luna! Your powers...!"

"It was too sudden, I couldn't help it...!" the same voice responds, though Miko finds herself unable to focus on this exchange when the light of her sword, to her surprise, is being bent to the side; Miko can see what lies in front of her.

"Now we got caught because of you!" a third voice accusingly exclaims, "If you hadn't said anything, I'd have taken care of the light and got us out of here!"

"How was I supposed to know this would happen...?!"

With her eyes slightly widened, Miko sheathes her sword. In front of her lay three short, distressed, clearly scared figures, all of them staring at Miko with pure unease while trembling in place. The one behind the light's manipulation is the one in the middle, Miko notes and, to her continuous surprise, this being is a fairy, along with her companions.

Miko stares at the fairies.

The fairies stare back at her, teary-eyed.

The three fairies grovel and bow before Miko as a last resort as she continues to gaze upon the tiny masterminds. "We're so sorry!" the three shout at the same time in equally high levels of panic.

"It was an accident!" the fairy in blue hastily adds, as if to lighten whatever sin they had committed.

"We really didn't know something bad would happen to Reimu because of it!" the fairy in red, responsible for bending the sword's light, exclaims in pure desperation.

"We won't do it again!" the fairy in white says in a quieter, but uneasy voice, and her expression indicates just as much fear as the others.

The three fairies grovel in unison and, in the same fashion, they shout, "Please forgive us!"

Miko's blank gaze remains, though she has undoubtedly finished taking in the situation a while ago. "In other words..." Miko pauses, unable to contain her skeptic, deadpan, if not almost dumbfounded expression, one which still contains more composure than most. She then lightly points at the fairies, who cower in face of the action. "You three are the perpetrators...?"

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Only now, in light of the late, orange afternoon sky, have Marisa, Futo, Alice and Sakuya arrived at the very entrance of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. It eerily stands surrounded by exceedingly tall bamboo, leaving only the slightest of spaces to enter the area. Something resembling a path stretches out before Marisa and her search party, but it is clear that this path will not actually help them know their way around the forest.

... Behind Marisa and Alice, who seem perfectly fine, Futo is panting in fatigue, while Sakuya's skirt is ever so slightly burnt on the edges. "'Tis no wonder... Thou residest in a manse... So overtaken by vile presences..." Not yet able to utter a flowing sentence without pausing, Futo gasps for air. "Thy prowess... Suits not the average human..."

Sakuya grimaces. "I surely hope you were not referring to the mistress with that," Sakuya bitterly responds. "I'm more than willing to defeat you again, after all. If I were you, I'd watch my tongue."

Even in spite of the prospect of losing once more, and knowing Sakuya's mood is somewhat soured (more by the state of her skirt and Futo's implications than anything), Futo manages a smirk, one of a wry nature, as she recomposes herself. "Verily, I stand defeated... But I've learnt much from this exchange, Lady Sakuya. Thou seemest to rely a considerable amount on thy time manipulation abilities, right?" Futo's smirk widens, and she tilts her head to the side. "Is not that so? Answer not, for thine actions serveth as the better response. If not for thine inhumane magic, thy knife arts would hardly threaten me. Such was my suspicion since our attempt to subdue the Tengu reporter, but I'm now wholly certain! The next time we fight, the vanquished loser shall be thee!" Futo decisively points towards Sakuya, who takes Futo's energy and intensity with only slight absent-minded surprise.

"If you're so motivated, you are always welcome to lose again," Sakuya calmly counters before very lightly and casually assuming a battle stance. Then, pensive, Sakuya places the hand that isn't holding onto five throwing knives under her chin. "Though I really would appreciate it if you refrained from burning my clothing with your attacks. Sewing is not something I want to add to my present workload."

Seemingly in reaction to Sakuya's genuine, if not rather spacy-sounding words, Futo meekly frowns. "Ah, mine apologies, I shall see to it I no longer trouble thee..." However, Futo's supposedly hesitant expression shifts almost instantly to a convicted one, as she scowls Sakuya's way. "Or so thou _wishedest_ of me to say, but in face of mine own garments' condition, which I do rather vividly remember being _thy_ work, I scarcely feel the need to comply with thy _trivial_ requests! Consider those burns irreplaceable war scars for thy clothing!"

"... I see you may just truly need another beating," Sakuya coldly, yet elegantly, remarks while bitterly frowning. "One time is simply not enough for you, it seems."

Just as Sakuya proceeds to assume a much more serious battle stance, Alice steps in front of her. "Alright, that's enough killing intent out of the both of you," she dejectedly interjects, seemingly troubled. "Haven't you realized your duel is the main reason we took so long to get here in the first place? Stopping Futo from throwing plates at us is fine and all, but more than that and we'll be searching for Reimu under the moonlight. I don't know about you two, but I'd like to avoid something as troublesome as that."

"Alice's right, for once," Marisa casually adds.

"As always, you mean," Alice retorts.

However, with only a wave of her hand, Marisa dismisses Alice entirely and continues to speak: "One duel's fine, but ya can't expect me to wanna see a rematch at this point. Judging by the time, we really gotta hurry and see her; I sure don't wanna wander this place in the dark." Marisa gestures towards the forest's entrance. "C'mon, let's get moving. If we find her, she'll lead us out, so there's no need to worry about getting lost this time around."

"If we do find her, that is..." Alice bitterly mutters, "If that ends up taking too much time, we may just have to truly search for Reimu under the moonlight."

"And worryin' about that's just as much of a waste, so stop complaining and..." Marisa pauses, and squints towards a sight far beyond where Alice, Futo and Sakuya currently stand. Surprised at the mist rapidly flying in her direction, Marisa steps back, warranting the confusion of the rest of the party.

"Lady Marisa?"

The mist swiftly passes by Futo, Alice and Sakuya, carrying with it strong wind. "What's this all of a sudden...?!" Alice utters, wide-eyed at the mist from which Marisa has to jump away from. It gathers into a single point, gaining more and more density.

"Could this be...?" Sakuya thoughtfully mutters as she stares at the figure apparent in the now denser mist.

Marisa blinks, and starts to recognize the horns and short stature in front of her. "Suika?" she questions, somewhat dumbfounded. "What's someone like you doing here?"

Meanwhile, Suika grins as she faces her left in order not to show her back to the rest of the party. "I'd ask you the same question," Suika conversationally counters before contentedly drinking from her gourd. Then, she breathes out. "Reimu's not there, y'know?"

"You know where she is...?!" Alice incredulously asks, hoping her mere assumption proves true.

"Meanest thou to say this Oni knows of Lady Reimu's whereabouts, Lady Alice?!" Shocked, Futo only briefly glances at Alice before fixating her gaze on Suika, who she regards with great suspicion. "Would not that make her the culprit behind her disappearance?! Rather, would not that make her disappearance a kidnapping orchestrated by this Oni?! This is unforgivable, unforgivable, I say!"

Suika looks Futo's way with a somewhat confused expression. "Whoa there..." Suika pauses as she stares at Futo intently. "Whoever you are. I didn't do anything to Reimu. It's not very nice, accusin' me like that." Despite her words, which sounded rather casual regardless, Suika proudly smiles. "If anything, you'll want to thank me for this one. I just found her for you, after all."

"Wait, for real?" Marisa stares at Suika in sheer awe, and notices everyone else, too, is visibly surprised over this turn of events.

"I don't lie," is Suika's simple, nonchalant response to the party's doubts. Even so, they don't show themselves entirely convinced of a situation so convenient.

"... Oh my, that would mean I left the mistress for no reason whatsoever," Sakuya remarks.

Futo loudly hums, seemingly in deep thought. Then, she grimaces. "If that's the case, surely thou art more than able to state her location this instant," Futo sourly says, "am I wrong?"

"So you wanna know right now?" Suika excitedly grins despite the clear suspicion sent her way, almost as if she had actually been praised instead. "You sure are impatient! Guess I've got no choice but to tell you if you're that eager." Suika puffs up her chest in pride before clearing her throat. "Well then, I found her right on the outskirts of the Forest of Magic. The place is all dark, but her spot wasn't as hard to find as I was expecting. I don't even know how you could go by this many hours without findin' her right away."

 **. . .**

Marisa, Alice and Futo glance at each other in pure unease.

 **. . .**

Marisa apprehensively smiles. "O-oh, really? Guess we forgot to stop by." Marisa chuckles, almost as if to ease her own tension. "I was just so busy gettin' Futo and Alice to join in that I didn't even think to go in there. Man, I sure tripped up with that one. _Right,_ Futo?" Marisa shifts her gaze to Futo, who flinches under the pressure Marisa has just passed onto her. "Why didn't you remind me to go there? I'm pretty sure you were good at reminding me of things, just sayin'."

"Ah, well," Futo nervously utters with an awkward-seeming smile, "I was still so dazzled by the Crown Prince that it utterly slipped from my mind! After all, she had just spoken to us, Lady Marisa! 'Tis in fact strange that only I would experience such a sensation, seeing as I speak of the Crown Prince herself! There's no helping the magnificence of the Crown Prince, which shines brighter than any and all stars!"

Alice wryly smiled Suika's way. "They were so intent on wasting time they never thought to leave me alone and look for Reimu themselves," Alice says before cynically shrugging. "Pitiful, isn't it?"

Suika frowns. "You all are, really," she counters in an almost disappointed, deflated manner. "Can't you just not make up lies that shoddy? Well, I'll overlook that for now. What we've gotta focus on is getting Reimu back from the forest. Here I am, giving you the location without any fuss so you could get the credit, and you don't look thankful at all!"

Marisa scowls. "Wait, I'm thankful," Marisa says, "we're all thankful, but we didn't expect it'd be this easy." The very prospect of not seeing Reimu after having gone so far for her manages to truly irritate Marisa, but she remains calm so as to reason with Suika. "Can you bring us there?"

"... More importantly," Sakuya suddenly utters, clearly not focused on the present conversation. Instead, she has her eyes upwards, towards the sky, and her back turned from the party. "Would any of you happen to know why this unsettling mound of youkai is parading in the sky? At this rate, I'll assume it was the Oni's doing."

"Huh?" Marisa, Futo and Alice face the same direction as Sakuya, confused. Then, Marisa's eye widen. "What the...?!"

Suika smirks. "Nope, wrong again. What I really want is a party at the shrine, not the sky."

"What sort of sinister gathering is this...?" Futo questions, incredulous.

"It's actually stranger that we didn't notice this before," Alice remarks as she frowns, her expression indicating only displeasure. "Just look at it."

Suika's only widens at the clear shock in the faces of the party members, particularly at Marisa's. "Want me to gather them for you? Rumors say they're looking for Reimu, y'know? Pretty suspicious if ya ask me."

Marisa processes Suika's words, and thinks back to previous events. It isn't as though Reimu's disappearance is public knowledge. If so, why is it known by the great amount of youkai now wandering the sky? Marisa darkly scowls, her fisted hands trembling in place. "That Tanuki..." she mutters in a clearly strained voice, caused by sheer anger. "What did she do...?!"

Futo faces her in confusion. "Tanuki...?"

"Looks like you know somethin' after all," Suika casually remarks in great contrast with the heavy hearts of the party. "I've got to admit, I'm not a fan of that youkai parade. It reeks of ulterior motives. That's why I'm gonna get another party going at the shrine, one that only smells of sake and nothin' else! If you're with me, you'll wanna break that up with those 'party members' of yours."

Grimacing, Alice turns around to speak to Suika, having heard her suggestion. "You mean to send us over there? Why should we? Our only goal was to retrieve Reimu. I don't want to put myself in that sort of mess."

"Just 'cause it looks little dangerous? You coward," Suika retorts, "Beat the boss, and it'll all work out somehow! Whether you want to or not, I'll gather them here. Who knows what'll happen if they really find Reimu? Well, it's not like they'll kill her, but... Y'know?"

Sakuya lightly nods, still with her eyes on the sky. "In other words, they could get in the way of my mistress' orders," she calmly interjects, "If anyone is to do anything strange to Reimu, it'll be the mistress. Even if the others refuse, I'll break up this parade." Sakuya then smiles. "I did want to stab through something more organic than plates and dolls, after all."

"Although that very last remark is ever so displeasing..." Futo begrudgingly mutters before smirking, resolute. "I shall join thee, Lady Sakuya! A gathering so sinister cannot simply remain in the open skies, or anywhere else! The unease of the human villagers over this matter is of unimaginable proportions! I shan't forgive a party so depraved! I will vanquish these youkai, and set each one aflame!"

Suika chuckles, somewhat amused. "You sure don't hold back," she remarks, grinning at both Futo and Sakuya. "Just how I like it! But don't roughen 'em up too hard. How'll they be at our party then?"

Alice looks at Futo and Sakuya, both seemingly excited. At an attitude so strange in face of a task so troublesome, Alice finds herself sighing. "If you all start agreeing with her, I won't be able to back out, now will I? Since you forced me into this search party, I never had a choice to begin with."

Suika huffs. "Should've said that from the start."

Meanwhile, Marisa shows herself utterly confused at this situation. "Wait, wait, wait," Marisa agitatedly utters, "What the hell are you movin' on with this conversation for? Aren't we gonna go get Reimu? We can't just leave her there!"

"Oh, you're not going with them," Suika responds in a remarkably neutral fashion, leaving Marisa even more confused than before. "They'll take the youkai, and you'll take Reimu. Simple, isn't it? While I'll get them over to an extra party member I left in the sky before going wild, you're going to the Forest of Magic and get Reimu yourself. Then, you'll have all the credit, right? Just as you wanted. Afterwards, we'll drink sake together!"

Alice grimaces. "You dragged somebody else into this? They better not just get in our way."

"Well, follow me and you'll see for yourself!" Suika cheerfully exclaims before swiftly transforming into mist and flying away without hesitation, and without waiting for the others.

"You're leavin' now? Weren't you gonna bring us there?!" Marisa shouts, but Suika, already far into the horizon, provides her with no response.

Briefly, Sakuya glances at Marisa. "In any case, I leave Reimu to you," she calmly says before setting off to follow Suika by air, and catches up to the wandering mist in the blink of an eye.

"Wha...?"

"Worry not, Lady Marisa!" Futo exclaims, seemingly content. "With how swiftly we will vanquish these youkai, I shall catch up to thee in mere moments!" Then, she flies away, clearly without the intention to listen to Marisa at all despite her supposedly reassuring words.

"You..."

Alice, the last one remaining, looks slyly towards Marisa. "Reap what you sow, as they say. After all, I'm quite sure you're the one who's wasted our time, in the end," Alice remarks with a mean-spirited smirk on her face. "In any case, good luck retrieving Reimu. You'll need it." Alice condescendingly waves at Marisa before following the others, heading for the mist.

 **. . .**

... Marisa processes her situation. Then, she takes note of the fact that she has been completely abandoned by her own search party. "Ugh..."

 _Well, fine, whatever,_ Marisa begrudgingly thinks, _It's not like I need 'em anyway._ As she looks up at the sky, in the direction of the Forest of Magic, Marisa finds herself smirking, though in an ever so slightly bitter manner. _I'll bring Reimu back, even if it means looking through the forest on my own._

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Grey walls surround Reimu once again. She has left Sans behind, and she assumes he will no longer follow her. _Now that sure was a weird skeleton... Weirder than he probably should've been, really._ Reimu narrows her eyes as she lightly ponders on the matter. _Saying he had to judge me and all that... Who does he think he is? Whatever his goals were, they didn't seem directly tied to the king._ Regardless, Reimu notes, this will have to be a topic for another day.

After all, the final showdown awaits her already. Quickly enough, two doors of great proportions are discovered and revealed to be tightly shut before Reimu, who stops to gaze upon them. "If this isn't the Boss room, I don't know what is..." she remarks with a convicted expression before glancing to her right. There still seems to be a path in that direction, smaller in scale, as if unimportant. _Where does that lead?_ Reimu's frown deepens. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." Reimu turns to the right.

She decides to check on the path, guided by a mere sensation that something lurks beyond it. After a long hallway, an equally long set of stairs reveals itself to Reimu, whose expression conveys no hesitation or determination. To her, this detour does not hold enough meaning to attribute such motivation. She descends this staircase at a moderate pace, thinking mostly of what lies down this path and whether traversing it will actually have any worth. Based on her intuition, she finds that this may not be entirely pointless, but Reimu is to face the king. She wishes this will not simply waste her time.

When she reaches the end of the stairs, Reimu looks towards the side, for her right and front have only grey walls obstructing her. Her left, however, is home to something Reimu did not truly expect to see. "This is..." Regardless, she moves to the left in order to approach them. Despite the room being so narrow that one cannot walk through most of it, Reimu can fly.

If she ever wishes to observe all coffins in the room, she can do so. Even the coffins present themselves in a monotone, grey fashion, excepting only the encarved painting of a heart. The coffin in front of her has a heart painted red, akin to the form her soul takes in the battles she has been through in the Underground. Beyond it are six more, making for seven coffins overall. However, the hearts painted onto them are of different colors each. _The king only had six souls, didn't he..._

"But the coffins are seven..." Moreover, there are names engraved over all of them, and from afar, it is clear each one is different from their lengths. On the coffin closest to Reimu, too, is a name, one she can read clearly.

'Chara'

"What does this mean...?" Reimu thinks back to the rest of the area she has traversed. She reminisces on the information she had gathered from the monster she had spoken to. Supposedly, some sort of circumstance had transpired, one worth repeating as a story.

"I suppose I should've listened to the story before getting here," Reimu mutters as she continues to intently stare at the coffin. "As far as I can tell, one of these people must not have been just the king's soul fodder. But the other six..."

"... They were no unfortunate accident, that I can be sure of."

Somberly, perhaps bitterly, though only faintly so, Reimu looks over the rest of the coffins from afar. The room's ceiling is low, and the light does nothing to brighten the solemn mood.

 **. . .**

"I'll owe you an apology when I'm done with this," Reimu coldly utters as she takes small, slow steps back. "Even though you probably don't deserve it, it looks like I'll be making your deaths be in vain." She feels as though she has no more business with the room, or the coffins where the humans presumably lie. As such, Reimu turns around, and proceeds to leave the area behind without looking back.

Reimu doesn't take to dwelling on the room any further. She knows that she can only expect answers from the king, who she will soon meet. Besides, her priorities are still the same as they were before; nothing has truly changed.

When she reaches the two huge doors, she does not hesitate to push them open. Due to their weight, Reimu takes time to truly make enough space to pass through them, and just as she does, she immediately walks forward without taking in the room that she decided to so recklessly enter. The doors close themselves behind her with little force, and slowly so, while Reimu processes this with a grimace.

Then, she takes to actually observing the room. She is stepping on a solid, stone floor at present, but said floor ends only centimeters in front of her to accommodate for a field of golden flowers. These flowers take up the majority of the melancholy area, with small traces of a floor as golden as the corridor she had stopped by for Sans is. The walls are very much the same, golden in color, but somehow, there is no sense of pride, nobility, or honor permeating from them or the room, not even from the throne located at the very middle.

This throne is barely seen by Reimu, as someone is blocking her view of it. Reimu steps forward, wishing to approach this tall figure. "Dum dee dum..." Somehow, he hasn't noticed Reimu's presence yet, and is showing his back, covered by a purple cape, to her. He seems to be focused on something. As Reimu treads onto the flowers, she attempts to see what, exactly, the monster is doing. "Oh?" Reimu stops in her tracks. It seems as though the sound of the flowers being trampled on was noticed by him. "Is someone there? Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers."

"I don't think you can afford to be that carefree in this situation," Reimu responds as she sees him move ever so slightly, presumably to water the flowers in front of him. "Since a human is right behind you."

The monster freezes in reaction to Reimu's nonchalant statement.

Reimu crosses her arms. "I imagine that's a big deal for someone like you. As far as I've heard, you've got six souls already, right? And I'm supposed to be the last soul you need."

The monster's form falters ever so slightly, and Reimu can tell he did listen to her. Reimu takes note of his demeanor: it displays considerable amounts of hesitation. Regardless, the monster slowly turns around, allowing Reimu to see his downcast expression and gaze. "It is as you say, human," he softly states, only to direct his eyes upwards, almost in order to verify Reimu's existence; that she is, in fact, there. "With one more soul, I will have gathered seven. With seven souls, I will finally be able to free the monsters... And reach the surface."

Reimu stares directly at him, the king, her eyes unwavering. He finds that only a saddening fact, something he does not wish to see erased. "If that's true, what was the seventh coffin supposed to be?" His eyes widen, shocked, but Reimu suffers no emotional changes, taking this in stride. Rather, his appearance continues to strike Reimu as familiar, particularly his long ears and white fur. As she thinks of it, she recalls Toriel having spoken of the king as a dangerous existence, though the details remain vague in her mind. Even then, Reimu does not find his relation to Toriel a priority at the moment. "As the king, you'd know that better than anyone."

Yet again, the king, Asgore, casts his eyes to the golden flowers below him; it wasn't difficult to process that someone has seen that room, especially if this individual is human. "Unfortunately... That, too, is as you say," Asgore hesitantely agrees. It's clear he wishes to avoid this topic, and this conversation entirely. However, Reimu notes, he is not doing so, almost as if he cannot. Still, Reimu calmly listens. "Throughout the years we have been bound to the Underground, six humans lost their lives unwillingly for our cause. The first that came before them... Died along with my son."

"I see," Reimu calmly utters. Beyond that, however, she does not speak or act. Through her straightforward gaze, it's practically impossible to see what exactly she is thinking. As Asgore is not directly looking at her and has only taken brief sight of Reimu's expression, he assumes she is only remaining so calm to hide her own pain. That, in her own way, Reimu is dealing with her situation the best she can, just as those before her have.

"And now that you have come this far, there is only one thing left for us to do. I assume you already know what it is." Ever so slightly, Reimu raises her eyebrows, less than mildly skeptic. "However, we don't have to do this right away. You must have much to think, and much to do before facing me. You can always return when you are finally ready." Asgore manages a small smile, though its purpose is only on brightening the mood. Naturally, the attempt fails. "No matter how long you may take, I will be waiting for you. There's no need to worry about time in light of our circumstances."

Reimu's frown deepens. "In the end," Reimu counters, "the one who needs to get ready is you, isn't it? Though, I don't see how you could run away at this point." She spots Asgore's hands, which tremble in place. Genuine sadness is reflected on his gaze, which he has tried not to direct at Reimu. "Did you never want me to come? If that's what it is, I have to admit I'm disappointed in you." Perhaps in realization that there is something more to Reimu than merely a human feigning composure, or due to the sheer pain Reimu's words caused him, Asgore finally lifts his gaze up to Reimu's face, his own expression distraught. Contrary to what he had imagined, the human that stands before him does not simply look calm: she seems resolute, without a single hint of hesitation; the exact opposite of himself. However, the most surprising part about Reimu, in his eyes, is the fact that in the midst of her own determination, Reimu's gaze is wholly clear, as if she can see through him. It isn't something he has ever attributed to a human, let alone one who has fallen into the Underground. Asgore steps back, processing the person in front of him; he sees her frown become a grimace. "Well, in that case, I have no choice. I'm ready, monster king." Swiftly, Reimu brandishes her Purification Rod. "Let's duel, right now!"

 **'*You challenge Asgore of your own volition!'**

"Human..." Asgore mutters, awe-struck by the sudden turn of events. Equally saddened, his gaze softens and falters under Reimu's decisive battle stance. "Please wait... Whatever it is, I'm sure we can simply talk it over. Let us not fight so suddenly in a room so narrow," he argues in a calm manner, but desperation and shock is still evident in his voice. Regardless, it is clear Asgore is attempting to reason with Reimu.

Reimu shakes her head. "I'm not waiting a single second for you, and I'm not willing to listen to your excuses, either! Isn't this the moment you've been waiting for? If you don't come at me, you'll regret it!" Reimu ardently exclaims, though she has yet to attack. It still happens to be Asgore's turn, Reimu notes, but likely not for long.

Asgore grimaces, still in place, almost as if unwilling to move. However, it's clear that he has pondered over the situation, even if he isn't looking at Reimu directly again. "Then, if we must... Let us at least not do this over the flowers. That is all I ask of you." Reimu stares him over in a displeased fashion, trying to see if he is merely making up another excuse. However, this favor seems remarkably serious.

Reimu bitterly huffs. "Fine," she responds as she looks down at the golden flowers. Then, looking up again, Reimu spots the screen fading away.

Asgore turns around, towards a passage in the horizon. "Thank you," he mutters, his voice soft and strained, seemingly from the previous shock. "Follow me, now. If you are ready... I will not stop you." He begins to walk, taking a left from the throne nearby. Reimu follows suit, and sighs over the situation.

Now that she is moving, she notices something covered with a white sheet to the right, a form similar to the throne in open view; she wonders about it before she leaves the area entirely. After the golden walls and flowers of the previous room, she is welcomed by grim darkness, and a thin path to her right. Asgore stands near what seems to be a doorway, awaiting Reimu's arrival. When she does reach his side, he looks towards her again: even now, she shows no signs of wavering from her convictions. Asgore opens the two doors and enters, while Reimu takes that chance to go in without having to hold the doors herself.

Immediately, she feels the barrier close by. She looks towards the doors on the opposite end of the dark room. "We're near the border, aren't we?" Reimu questions as she watches Asgore stop walking at the precise middle of the room. When he turns to her, he solemnly nods.

"You have already proven yourself prepared for what's to come," Asgore states, "And, as much as I would not like to do this, I cannot ignore your determination." Even despite that, Asgore's gaze is cast to the ground; Reimu cynically notes this. However, her eyes then widen as, from the floor, seven vials surge. "After all, this is all as it should be."

"Wha..." These thin, yet considerably tall vials are lined up side to side with Asgore; four on his right, and three on his left. "Those are..." Six of them hold what Reimu can immediately identify as human souls, especially as their colors match the ones she has seen from the coffins. Reimu grimaces and narrows her eyes. "The human souls..."

"I am sorry, human." Asgore's right arm stretches outwards, to the side, in a movement so fast it serves to surprise Reimu, who hadn't expect it. The sudden action causes his cape to violently flap away from his arm, which reveals itself holding a long, red trident. "This is goodbye."

 **'*(A strange light fills the room.)'**

 **'*(Twilight is shining over—'**

Reimu takes a step back out of reflex, but realizes that Asgore's swing of his trident had been aimed not at her, but at the screen in front of her. Against all expectations, the trident physically pierces through and shatters it entirely, leaving Reimu to stares at its pieces wide-eyed as they fade from existence. Her soul returns from whence it had appeared, almost as if the entire battle system had been nullified under the power of Asgore.

This is it. This is the final showdown.

Asgore, with his eyes still fixated on the floor, lunges at Reimu, who finds herself jumping back so as to avoid being confronted with an attack from Asgore's trident. Unbeknownst to him, Reimu is smiling. "If this is how it's gonna be, you better not hold back, you hear me?!" Reimu throws five amulets Asgore's way, almost as if to test him. Asgore halts their movement with his trident, which he uses to send the amulets flying the opposite way. They fall near Reimu, who doesn't bother picking them up or checking on them. Instead, she floats to the side in order to dodge Asgore again. "Where you stand, in this desolate, secluded Underground, you've never had a choice but to fight in the first place!"

Five more amulets fly Asgore's way, but along with them, Reimu dashes towards him holding her Purification Rod high. Asgore's trident collides with the sturdy Purification Rod, and while Reimu ends up flinching from the raw power behind his swing, she has her eyes directed towards his cape, where two of the amulets landed. Not only that, but Asgore, too, had flinched at the same moment, but over one of her amulets having hit his shoulder; Reimu's smile widens. Asgore forces the trident and, consequentially, the Purification rod aside, momentarily tripping up Reimu's balance. "Whoa...!" She lets go of her weapon, lets it fall to the floor and has herself floating in the air so as to render herself unable to tumble, creating distance from him by moving backwards. Reimu sees Asgore glancing at the amulet stuck to his arm, but he does not seem intent on removing it, likely having considered it best to leave it that way. Reimu lunges forward once more, staring straight at the Purification Rod on the floor, but finds herself floating to the side in order to avoid what she processed to be a fireball.

She glances to her right, and spots three more manifesting beside her; she glances to her left, and three more. Reimu plows forward, faces the Purification Rod downward, and lifts her leg towards Asgore's trident as she proceeds to grab her weapon. She ends up kicking the trident, propelling herself backwards from applying intense force onto that hit and she swiftly takes that chance to throw another set of five amulets, serving only to distract Asgore from aiming at her. "You should know you can't afford to back out from your own responsibilities! Running away should be an unforgivable sin to you! But then again..." Two ying-yang orbs emerge from behind Reimu before she flies away from the fireballs heading towards her. "If you're running away while knowing they are all waiting for you to set things straight, that's even more unforgivable!"

More and more ying-yang orbs surge, and a few of them are sent flying towards Asgore already while Reimu steps to the side to avoid a fireball heading for her. "Do you even know how many people are fighting for you right now?!" Reimu watches Asgore approach Reimu while swatting away incoming ying-yang orbs, and her smile only widens, contrasting with Asgore's somber presence. "They all believe you, you know?!" Reimu ducks when Asgore swings his trident her way and places two amulets on Asgore's legs before rolling to the right. Seeing him wince from the corner of her eye, Reimu quickly stands through the use of a barrier pushing her, only to send it towards a mound of fireballs approaching her from the side. The barrier stops their progress and erases them when it hits a wall as it disappears. "But in the end, you're just being a coward!" Reimu charges at Asgore and parries his trident, noting he can't defend himself from her and the ying-yang orbs at the same time. However, she also finds that the swings are not as strong as they should be. Asgore is clearly not this weak; Reimu's smile fades ever so slightly. Reimu sidesteps Asgore while still obstructing the trident with her weapon and throws amulets from behind him.

Watching him falter, Reimu lowers her Purification Rod from the trident and jumps back from Asgore's retaliation, but there seems to be nothing different about Asgore. "You're just holding everyone back as you are and they're letting you get away with it!" No traces of fury or anger are evident in Asgore; neither is any fighting spirit. Reimu conjures more ying-yang orbs behind her before floating away from Asgore. At this point, the sheer amount of ying-yang orbs in the area overpower the amount of fireballs, though they, too, are numerous enough for Reimu to exercise caution. As such, while some ying-yang orbs are avoided and parried, others cleanly hit Asgore, and there seems to be a clear victor in the battle so far. However, Reimu notes, he could have blocked many more projectiles than that. "But I won't! I'll have you know that this duel, no matter how much you didn't want it, was always meant to be!" Reimu's convicted expression contrasts with an easygoing smile.

Asgore steps back, almost as if hesitating. Picking up on this, Reimu rushes for him relentlessly, only to move aside from rows of fireballs placed in her way. Still, she throws a set of amulets towards Asgore before hurrying to the side again, intending to get behind him before he can truly counterattack. Three of the amulets seem to hit Asgore, which is much more than Reimu had expected. "If this is how much you actually care about the humans who died over your cause..." Before even she can notice, she is precisely behind Asgore in but an instant, just as she desired. Perhaps her powers aided ger again, but Reimu pays this no mind and instead conjures a ying-yang orb on her left hand. Then, she plunges it onto Asgore back, covered by his cape, and it proceeds to rapidly grow in size, weighing down on Asgore and forcing him to momentarily kneel. Meanwhile, Reimu floats upwards and passes by Asgore, landing in front of him afterwards. Asgore leans to the side, letting the ying-yang orb roll off of him before fading away. "You shouldn't have ever taken them down to begin with, especially if you were going to be half-hearted about it!"

Reimu throws more amulets his way while he still attempts to stand, noting that he has been considerably roughened by the many projectiles and attacks Reimu had thrown at him. However, he does not seem any different. Reimu distances herself further from Asgore, not finding much of a need for heavy physical attacks anymore. "In the end, you're just making every sacrifice be in vain for your own selfishness' sake, but you're not even owning up to it!" The more Asgore slowly moves her way, the more Reimu makes up for the proximity by floating away and simply conjuring more ying-yang orbs, which haphazardly make their way through the area. In face of these additional projectiles, Asgore swings his trident with exceeding might, creating a shockwave of a light blue color that erases most of the ying-yang orbs and have Reimu quickly move upwards so as to avoid it. He had always possessed such a skill; he could have used it earlier. Reimu narrows her eyes before landing, as if ever so slightly thoughtful. "Though, I suppose you know all of that much better than I ever could! After all, you agreed to this fight yourself! You always knew what you had to do! But then again, that's even more despicable!" She sees Asgore conjuring his own fireballs as if to make up for the loss of the projectiles he had erased with his previous attack, which serves to keep a faint smile on Reimu's face. There may be hope.

 **"Scattering Spirit...!"** Reimu announces without looking back at the many orbs of light materializing behind her. **"Fantasy Seal!"** Many ying-yang orbs surge together with them, frozen in place, and others already in the arae gather in one mound. **"Marred...!"** At the very same time all of the projectiles are shot directly towards Asgore in one chaotic flurry of light, rows of fire await Reimu, who busies herself making small movements to the left and right in order to avoid them. Focused, even feeling a tinge of nostalgia from the current situation, her smile assumes an even purer form than before. Another stream of projectiles readies itself from behind Reimu, and Reimu only briefly looks up from the fireballs she is dodging to see how Asgore is faring.

She sees him in the same position as before she even announced her spellcard, battered in various areas of his body. Reimu scowls at his pained, resigned sight, in which he is only barely kneeling. "You could've dodged that," Reimu states, "and if you could've, why didn't you...?" Asgore does not face her; his eyes are still on the floor. "Hey, I told you not to hold back!" The projectiles behind Reimu fly forward yet again, without any direct aim or trick. It isn't even as though Asgore cannot parry some of these orbs of light; Reimu's hands tremble in fury. "You're not supposed to give up! What about our fight?!"

Asgore feels himself weakened, mentally and physically. Reimu's words cut through his heart perhaps more painfully than the damage he has absorbed from Reimu's spellcard. Reimu's exclamations, brimming with pure conviction, are more than convincing; they are the truth. Most of all, however, despite the seemingly spiteful claims, accusing him of unforgivable sin, Reimu's actual attacks do not strongly hurt him by themselves. The spellcard he has been hit with, unlethal in nature, is devoid of killing intent.

Reimu herself is devoid of killing intent. "Say something!" The third wave of bullets reaches Asgore. "If this is how you truly are, I honestly have to say I've no idea what any of these monsters see in you!" The fourth wave approaches. Reimu notices that no more fireballs stand in her path. "And if you aren't saying anything, it's because you admit it!" Reimu sees Asgore kneeled on the ground, most of his cape charred from the spellcard. Reimu stops her own spellcard. "Hey..."

Weakly, Asgore attempts to stand. Reimu lands on the floor, and takes to approaching Asgore. "If you never wanted to fight in the first place, and if you never wanted to take on this responsibility..." Reimu coldly says as she continues to slowly walk in his direction. Asgore uses his trident as a way to support his weight as he stands and, without ever looking at Reimu directly, he raises his trident with trembling hands. "What are you even doing here right now?"

Asgore freezes in place, his expression intensely distraught. "I don't know what circumstances you have, and I don't really care either, but in this situation..." Reimu points her Purification Rod at him, almost threateningly so. "You're supposed to want to take my soul, not the other way around."

... Asgore lowers his trident. "Human..." Asgore mutters, saddened. "You speak only the truth. It is because you only speak the truth that this battle pains me all the more. I must apologize to you. It appears you were trying to make me fight. However, I could not even notice that... Underneath my own feelings of guilt." Asgore is staring back at Reimu directly for once, seemingly because he feels that he must at least do that for her. "Truthfully... I cannot take this any longer. I never wanted power. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just wanted to end this, once and for all. Knowing I was only running away, that I was only being selfish... I have hurt countless others, all at the expense of my own cowardice. And you, human, saw through me from the very beginning. Though you never gave up on me in spite of what you had seen... I only averted my eyes from your true intentions. I won't ask for your forgiveness. I know I do not deserve it. And even though asking this is yet another attempt at running away from my sins... Young one, please... Take my soul, and leave this cursed place."

"Look," Reimu utters in a cold, yet strangely easygoing manner, "whatever it is you think or feel towards this whole situation, I'm not about to kill you just because you feel like dying. I mean, you're not even a youkai, so it's not like I actually need to bother with something like that, either." Reimu glances to the side, finding such a train of thought exceedingly awkward. "If even you say it's cowardice, just take responsibility." Asgore widens his eyes in shock at Reimu's affirmation, but Reimu continues to speak regardless of this: "It might've made you feel better knowing you were going to help me cross, but I changed my mind a while ago. I'll break your barrier. I don't know why you all believed in some weird cave scriptures to begin with, but if you give me a week or so, I can break it for you. Though, in return, you're going to have to do as I tell you. If you end up free, you'll be following the laws of my home no matter what they are. And if you don't... You'll regret it. It may be far from the freedom you wanted, but it's the most you'll ever have. Be grateful for at least that."

Asgore stares at Reimu, almost speechless at the fact that she is not lying. "Human... You..." Furthermore, ovewhelmingly so in light of Reimu's actions and their odd transition to this conclusion, Reimu's almost neutral, cold gaze does not at all waver...

... Not until she spots a circle of tiny, white projectiles behind Asgore's weakened form. "Wait..." It's then Reimu's turn to show herself shocked when these projectiles swiftly, relentlessly, mercilessly fly onto Asgore before she was able to take out her needles. "Hey...!" Asgore gasps, the sudden pain and killing intent creeping unto his very soul. Before he can even process it, he is hit with another circle of bullets in a row too fast to react to, and his body starts to crumble into dust. "This...!"

For a few moments, a grey heart similar to Reimu's floats in Asgore's place, only for one more mysterious, yet familiar projectile to aim itself towards it. However, before it manages to actually pierce through the soul, a needle collides with it and sends it flying towards a wall. "Whoever you are, you better show yourself right now!"

Then, as requested by Reimu, the perpetrator surges from the floor, grinning in face of Reimu's fury. "Even if you defend his soul, it's not like he can come back to life, you know? _**He's already dead.**_ " As if to prove his words, the soul begins to fade away, never to return again. Reimu watches this only in anger, but sees to it she directs her gaze back to the familiar entity she had met at the Ruins.

"You're that flower monster..." Reimu coldly mutters, with the slightest hints of true fury.

"Howdy!" Flowey cheerfully greets, contrasting greatly (and on purpose) with Reimu's emotions. "You've been watching out for me, haven'tcha? But you're too late." To her surprise, what she can immediately note as the human souls gather around Flowey, floating beside him. Feeling a great sense of danger and urgency from this baffling turn of events, Reimu glances towards the vials, which are all empty. _**"The human souls are all mine now!"**_

Before even fully turning her gaze back to Flowey, Reimu throws ten amulets in his direction. However, somewhat agitated, Reimu proceeds to conjure balls of light of a considerable size behind her. **"Spirit Sign: Fantasy—"**

Something flashes white, rendering Reimu unable to see. Almost as if she had been hit by some sort of shockwave, she can no longer move or feel anything. The only thing she sees herself capable of is hearing Flowey's maniacal laughter before seemingly losing her consciousness.

* * *

 **ＦＬＯＷＥＹ'ｓ ＮＯＴＥＳ:**

* * *

 _ **Ｌｏｏｋｉｎｇ ｆｏｒｗａｒｄ ｔｏ ｔｈｅ ｎｅｘｔ ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ？ Ｙｏｕ ＳＩＣＫＯ！ Ｈｅｅ ｈｅｅ ｈｅｅ！**_

 _ **Ｗｅｌｌ， ｉｆ ｙｏｕ ｗａｎｎａ ｗａｔｃｈ ｈｅｒ ＤＩＥ ｔｈａｔ ｂａｄｌｙ， Ｉ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｓｔｏｐ ｙｏｕ． Ｙｏｕ ｐｒｏｂａｂｌｙ ｄｏｎ'ｔ ｈａｖｅ ａｎｙｔｈｉｎｇ ｂｅｔｔｅｒ ｔｏ ｄｏ ａｎｙｗａｙ．**_

 _ **Ｓｏ ｗｈａｔ ａｒｅ ｙｏｕ ｗａｉｔｉｎｇ ｆｏｒ？**_


	15. Chapter 15

**First W—** _**Ａｒｅｎ'ｔ ｔｈｅｓｅ ａｌｓｏ Ａｕｔｈｏｒ'ｓ Ｎｏｔｅｓ？ Ｔｈｉｓ ｓｅｃｔｉｏｎ ｉｓ ｌｉｔｅｒａｌｌｙ ＵＳＥＬＥＳＳ．**_

* * *

 _ **Ｉｆ ｙｏｕ ｔｈｉｎｋ ａｂｏｕｔ ｉｔ， ａｎｙｔｈｉｎｇ ｔｈａｔ'ｓ ｄｏｎｅ ｈｅｒｅ ｃｏｕｌｄ ｈａｖｅ ｂｅｅｎ ｄｏｎｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ａｕｔｈｏｒ'ｓ Ｎｏｔｅｓ． Ｔｈｅｓｅ ａｒｅ ａｌｓｏ ｎｏｔｅｓ， ａｆｔｅｒ ａｌｌ． Ｓｏ， ｗｈｙ ｗａｓｔｅ ｅｖｅｒｙｏｎｅ'ｓ ｔｉｍｅ ｗｉｔｈ ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ ｌｉｋｅ ｔｈｉｓ？ Ｉｔ ｗａｓ ｐｒｏｂａｂｌｙ ｂｅｃａｕｓｅ ｔｈｅ ｗｒｉｔｅｒ ｗａｎｔｅｄ ｙｏｕｒ ａｔｔｅｎｔｉｏｎ ＴＨＡＴ ｂａｄｌｙ． Ｐｉｔｉｆｕｌ， ｉｓｎ'ｔ ｉｔ？ Ｉｔ'ｓ ｎｏｔ ｌｉｋｅ ｄｏｉｎｇ ｔｈｉｓ ｆｏｒｃｅｓ ａｎｙｏｎｅ ｔｏ ｒｅａｄ． Ｂｕｔ ｔｈｅｎ ａｇａｉｎ， ｙｏｕ ＡＲＥ ｈｅｒｅ ｒｉｇｈｔ ｎｏｗ ｓｏ ｃｌｅａｒｌｙ ｙｏｕ ｈａｖｅ ｎｏｔｈｉｎｇ ｂｅｔｔｅｒ ｔｏ ｄｏ ｔｈａｎ ｒｅａｄｉｎｇ ｕｓｅｌｅｓｓ ｓｔｕｆｆ ｆｒｏｍ ａ ｕｓｅｌｅｓｓ ｓｅｃｔｉｏｎ．Ｓｅｒｉｏｕｓｌｙ， ｏｖｅｒ ｔｗｏ ｈｕｎｄｒｅｄ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ ｂｏｔｈｅｒｅｄ ｔｏ ｂｅ ｈｅｒｅ． Ａｒｅ ｙｏｕ ｊｕｓｔ ＴＨＡＴ ｂｏｒｅｄ？ Ｄｏｎ'ｔ ｙｏｕ ｈａｖｅ ａｎｙｔｈｉｎｇ ｂｅｔｔｅｒ ｔｏ ｄｏ？ Ｔｈｅ ｒｅｖｉｅｗｓ ａｒｅｎ'ｔ ａｎｙ ｂｅｔｔｅｒ． Ｉｔ'ｓ ｌｉｋｅ ｙｏｕ ａｃｔｕａｌｌｙ ｅｘｐｅｃｔ Ｒｅｉｍｕ ｔｏ ＷＩＮ ｏｒ ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ．Ｄｏ ｙｏｕ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｔｈｉｎｋ Ｉ'ｄ ｌｅｔ ｈｅｒ？  
**_

 _ **Ａｔ ｌｅａｓｔ ｙｏｕ'ｒｅ ｒｉｇｈｔ ａｂｏｕｔ ｏｎｅ ｔｈｉｎｇ． Ｉ ＡＭ ｖｅｒｙ ｃｌｅｖｅｒ．**_

 _ **Ｂｕｔ ｙｏｕ ａｒｅｎ'ｔ．**_

* * *

 **Chapter 15: ＦＬＯＷＥＹＴＡＬＥ**

* * *

Without a means to ascertain time within the abyssal darkness surrounding her, Reimu awakes. She blinks, repeatedly so, groggy and confused at the lack of any particular scenery in front of her. "What the..." Her memories are hazy, along with her thoughts. "Where..." She looks to her left, and to her right. Then, she turns around.

Nothing. There is nothing surrounding her.

Reimu tenses. "Wait...!" She darkly scowls, though her gaze expresses clear agitation. _I was with the king, but then that flower...!_ The more Reimu processes the situation, the more she calms herself, but her anger only intensifies. As though the mastermind were right in front of her, Reimu points her Purification Rod forward, in a threatening fashion. "Wherever you are," Reimu exclaims, "show yourself, you weird flower! Just what have you done here?!"

From within the darkness, something akin to radio static is heard. Then, at a considerable distance from Reimu, a screen flickers. For a moment, the shape it projects merely trembles, intangible and unrecognizable. Even so, Reimu glares its way, fearless of the turn of events; she has no doubts as to what that mound of yellow is about to become. When the screen finally stabilizes, though it isn't like there was any malfunction causing this to begin w _ **—**_ _**Ｉｔ'ｓ ｆｏｒ ｄｒａｍａｔｉｃ ｅｆｆｅｃｔ， ｙｏｕ ｓｔｕｐｉｄ ｎａｒｒａｔｏｒ！**_

 _ **Ａｎｄ ｇｒｅａｔ． Ｔｈｅｙ ｊｕｓｔ ｈａｄ ｔｏ ｂｒｅａｋ ｉｔ ｆｏｒ ｍｅ． Ｅｖｅｎ ｔｈｏｕｇｈ Ｉ ｗａｓ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｔｒｙｉｎｇ ｈｅｒｅ．**_

 _ **Ｗｅｌｌ， ｇｕｅｓｓ ｗｈｏ Ｒｅｉｍｕ ｓｅｅｓ？ Ｇｏｌｌｙ， ｔｈａｔ'ｓ ｒｉｇｈｔ！**_

 _ **Ｉｔ'ｓ ｍｅ， Ｆｌｏｗｅｙ！ Ｆｌｏｗｅｙ， ｔｈｅ ｆｌｏｗｅｒ！**_

"Howdy!" Flowey cheerfully greets, unfazed by Reimu's clear negativity. "I'd introduce myself again, but I already know you're too brain-dead to remember names."

"Answer the question," Reimu orders, resolute. She does not display signs of having been offended or scared. It's as if she cannot afford to feel more than her present anger.

The level of tension within Reimu does not compare with Flowey, who, conversely, appears amused; as if he can afford to do so. "Boy! For someone who's **ABOUT TO DIE,** " Flowey enunciates as his expression decays, revealing a toothy grin and hollow eyes condescendingly staring down at Reimu as though she were as insignificant as an ant. However, as if to erase the sudden change, the screen projecting Flowey flickers, only to reveal his normal, smiling expression. "You sure are pushy! You really don't know a thing, do you?"

"That's why I'm asking, you flower monster! This space isn't normal," Reimu coldly states as she glances around, "It's supposed to be the same place I was in before, but I don't feel the barrier anymore. Whatever it is you're planning, I won't allow you to get away with it!" Four ying-yang orbs materialize behind Reimu, floating behind her _**ｂｅｆｏｒｅ ｄｉｓａｐｐｅａｒｉｎｇ ｉｎｔｏ ｎｏｔｈｉｎｇｎｅｓｓ．**_ "Wha...?!" Her eyes wide in pure shock, Reimu does not see the ying-yang orbs she has just summoned for reasons entirely unknown to her.

"What's wrong? Was there something behind you?" Flowey asks in mock-worry. "That's strange." In a matter of seconds, an eerie smile grows over his supposedly saddened frown, etched wider than any normal one. "And here I thought I erased your powers before you could even turn them against me."

Reimu faces Flowey with a grimace. "'Erased'? What do you mean?! I told you to explain yourself already!" Reimu shouts, frustrated.

"Weren't you there? Because you had the brilliant idea of fighting that old fool for NO GOOD REASON," Flowey responds while his expression sees itself morphing into a sinister depiction of Asgore's face, hollow in expression, as though devoid of life. Then, a grin surges over it. " _I'VE_ got the human souls now!" Momentarily, Reimu gives this thought: how exactly does that connect to the previous situation? Though she remembers the implications of the power of human souls in the scriptures, she cannot imagine them being able to cause this. If so, why...? In Gensokyo, six human souls would not grant this sort of power, whatever it is; Reimu's confusion only intensifies. "It's all your fault, you know? Instead of escaping by yourself with those powers of yours, you stayed in the Underground. You talked with the monsters. You tried to solve their problems. And honestly? I couldn't thank you enough for that. If you hadn't been such a complete IDIOT, I wouldn't have gotten this far."

According to the scriptures, seven human magicians had created the barrier... While Reimu had only given a brief look into the barrier, she did not think to come up with the theories she now ponders over. Reimu's expression softens ever so slightly from its anger and confusion; Reimu's frown is but a faint one. "So it's the barrier, isn't it? The barrier is what makes the souls give you a power as twisted as this," Reimu affirms with a remarkably apathetic voice, as though seeing through Flowey, "Space-time twists itself according to the spiritual power attained... Making you govern its flow yourself. But I'm the missing piece in the end, right? You still need another soul."

"Even if you try to be smart now, you're too late," Flowey counters while smirking down at her. "So what if it's the barrier?" _**Ｉｔ'ｓ ｎｏｔ ｅｖｅｎ ｃａｎｏｎ． Ｔｈｉｓ ｓｔｏｒｙ ｓｕｒｅ ｌｏｖｅｓ ｈａｖｉｎｇ ｉｔｓ ｏｗｎ ｖａｇｕｅ ｊｕｓｔｉｆｉｃａｔｉｏｎｓ． Ｄｏｅｓ ｔｈｅ ｗｒｉｔｅｒ ｔｈｉｎｋ ｙｏｕ ｃａｒｅ？**_ "Knowing that won't change anything for you!"

"But it makes me understand what's going on!" Reimu counters as she intensely glares Flowey's way and flails her Purification Rod around in anger. "In the end, the power-hungry evil-doer in this whole incident was you!" _**Ｓｌｏｗ ｏｎ ｔｈｅ ｕｐｔａｋｅ， ｉｓｎ'ｔ ｓｈｅ？**_ "And someone as dangerous as you isn't someone I can just forgive without getting payback. You'll be punished right here, right now! No matter how powerful you are, it isn't my fate to die here!" Reimu brandishes her Purification Rod before four ying-yang orbs materialize behind her. They circle her, and they begin to shine brighter and brighter _**ｕｎｔｉｌ ｔｈｅｙ ｄｉｓａｐｐｅａｒ ｗｉｔｈｏｕｔ ａ ｔｒａｃｅ ｔｈｅ ｍｏｍｅｎｔ Ｒｅｉｍｕ ｂｌｉｎｋｓ．**_ Reimu's eyes widen for a moment, and she looks down at where the orbs should have been, only for a grimace to surface on her. She sighs. "I see how it is..."

"Do you?" Sharp teeth and a loose tongue become the most prominent features in Flowey's new sinister expression, along with smaller eyes shining ever so faintly. To someone like Reimu, however, the change is irrelevant, and far from intimidating. "Do you really know _ANYTHING_ about your situation right now? This isn't a game anymore, Reimu! There are no SAVEs, RESETs or even retries for YOU. If you die, that's it." Suddenly, Flowey's face crumbles, though he doesn't cease to speak. _**"YOU DIE."**_ Then, it returns to normal, as if it never happened to begin with. "And you'll never come back... Boy! What a shame! Looks like your only option..." Flowey's normal expression seemingly melts, with only bright, hollow eyes staring into the darkness whilst an eerie grin surfaces. _**"IS TO BE KEPT ALIVE UNTIL I GET ＳＩＣＫ ＯＦ ＳＥＥＩＮＧ ＹＯＵ ＳＵＦＦＥＲ．"**_

Reimu smiles. "What are you waiting for, then?" Reimu could have cut Flowey off at any time. She could have responded much sooner. However, as if she felt no need to do so, she took to quietly listening to Flowey instead. Even despite the clear intimidation, Reimu finds herself unfazed, and even brandishes her Purification Rod.

Flowey takes a moment to process _**ｊｕｓｔ ｈｏｗ ＳＴＵＰＩＤ ｔｈｉｓ ｌａｄｙ ｉｓ．**_ "... What? Even after all that... You STILL think you can beat _**ME?**_ _Hee hee hee..._ "

"You really ARE an idiot."

The screen projecting Flowey flickers and fades from existence the very moment Flowey stopped speaking. Reimu looks around, attempting to locate Flowey in middle of the pure darkness she presently stands on. She has no luck in finding him, and instead proceeds to face forward once again.

Flashes of red surge in a manner as sudden and ephemeral as the screen that had come before them, along them a blaring sound akin to an alarm horn. Reimu blinks, and widens her eyes ever so slightly at the entity in front of her, yet to be fully seen in the darkness. It slowly approaches Reimu, colossal in size.

Reimu steps back and assumes a fighting stance. As far as she has been able to figure, Flowey will not let her use her spiritual powers. However, she still has her equipment. Resolute, Reimu stares straight at the figure about to be illuminated into sight amidst its own dark environment.

Reimu has no other option but to assume the creature in front of her is Flowey. Various silver cables and tubes stand behind Flowey, all of them connecting to his otherworldly body. On top of what seems to be a mound of flesh with a mouth protruding forth is a strangely slim monitor displaying a deranged grin surpassing even its borders, and eerie eyes colored red and green. Four light blue eyes placed in between oddly-arranged tubing look down at Reimu as they convulse in place. Supporting this main body is an overwhelmingly thick, thorny vine, and from it hang two paw-shaped extensions on Reimu's right and left, moderately distanced from her. Colored green and with leaves covering some parts, they seem almost like plants themselves, with the reddened ends, resembling claws, perhaps being more akin to deadly thorns. This is the figure presently cackling before a calm Reimu, one she had not thought she would initially see and face off against.

 _ **．．． Ｒｅａｌｌｙ？ ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ｔｈｅ ｂｅｓｔ ｔｈｅ ｎａｒｒａｔｏｒ ｃａｎ ｄｏ？ Ｓｏ ｍｕｃｈ ｆｏｒ ａ ｃｏｏｌ ｅｎｔｒａｃｅ． Ｉ ｄｏｎ'ｔ ｅｖｅｎ ｋｎｏｗ ｗｈｙ Ｉ ｗａｓ ｅｘｐｅｃｔｉｎｇ ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ ｔｈｉｓ ｓｔｏｒｙ．**_

Reimu immediately lunges at Flowey, only to fly back and away from the fast projectiles flying towards her. She whacks the nearest cross-shaped bullet with her Purification Rod, propelling it to the side as she floats to the left, the supposed safe spot. The bullet spread moves from right to left, and as she accompanies the movement (one greatly reminiscent of her own spellcards), she takes note of the slight cut in her wooden weapon caused by the collision with the sharp projectile.

If it can do that to the Purification Rod, Reimu notes, it can most certainly cut through her own skin as well. Suddenly, a circle of projectiles closes in on her and, in a hurry, Reimu rushes through a small gap and looks around. Another circle emerges, but Reimu simply rises in the air and throws five amulets Flowey's way.

 _ **Ｔｈｅｙ ｄｉｓａｐｐｅａｒ ｗｉｔｈｏｕｔ ａ ｔｒａｃｅ** _ before Reimu flies downwards in order to quickly dodge the next circle of bullets. Reimu narrows her eyes; it isn't like the amulets would have damaged Flowey that badly. Was there truly a need to make them disappear? In the midst of these thoughts, Reimu is faced with fire. With widened eyes, Reimu takes to distancing herself from it and moving to the right. An apparatus unknown to Reimu is what seems to be responsible for the attack. There are two of them, and the one to the right forces Reimu back to the left once again.

There doesn't seem to be a meaningful reason behind the erasure of her amulets, Reimu figures. "Resistance is futile, huh..." Reimu coldly mutters as she takes out another five amulets. Suddenly, Reimu finds herself reflexively dodging vines shot straight in her direction. More follow, and Reimu throws the amulets in their direction. They pierce through one of the vines, but there appears to be no effect on the attack itself, which viciously continues with another row of vines coming from the opposite side. The ones that had attacked Reimu before retracted just as quickly as they had been shot forth, and Reimu sees no difficulty in moving away from them without any obstructions.

The sharp projectiles spread out in front of Reimu before she can even process that the vine attack had stopped. Reimu flies upwards, but finds that the bullets accompany this movement and make Reimu move to the right and left until the pattern stops. The sound akin to an alarm horn returns and directs Reimu's gaze upwards, but nothing lies there. She immediately looks back down at Flowey, but is met with sudden fire.

In the process of floating away from it, Reimu's left detached sleeve becomes ever so slightly singed. However, Reimu has no time to concern herself with this and quickly moves to her original position. _I've got to reach him somehow..._ The screen on Flowey's body flashes the following word in yellow and red: 'WARNING'. Below it is a familiar heart colored light blue. Part of the tubing near the eyes on Flowey is flashing a similar color to this soul. Reimu moves away from a set of vines before the area flickers into further darkness. "Huh...?"

No longer can Reimu see Flowey. However, a monitor akin to Flowey's surges. Seemingly pitch black, the only thing it projects is the very same heart that Reimu had noticed before. _What's going on here?_ Unable to think of the answers, for the time being, Reimu focuses on the sudden flurry of gigantic knives that materialized all around her. They rotate slowly, and move in random, unpredictable directions. Reimu looks up, and barely manages to escape being slashed by a knife just above her by flying downwards. "Whoa...!" Her eyes wide, processing the near-death scenario, Reimu rolls to the left and carefully places herself near one of the knives. She focuses on it, attempting to mimic its movements entirely. As she does so, she looks towards the screen. _Should I shoot it down?_ Knives surround her no matter where she lays her eyes upon. _Would that stop it?_ There seems to be nothing else in her surroundings beyond the knives and the monitor; she can only reach one conclusion. As she takes out three needles, Reimu spots familiar words in white near the screen.

 **'*Faintly, you hear a voice calling your name...'**

At the same time, though Reimu herself can't place it, something reverberates in her ears; something otherworldly. For now, it's too faint to recognize or even make out, but it manages to stun Reimu. Something about it shakes her senses, bringing them away from the reality she is currently experiencing.

However, a great pain has her focus on the present situation, for better or worse. Reimu screams out as she looks to her left in pure shock. The agonizing sensation, one Reimu has scarcely felt in her life, has its cause in the knife to her left, which has mercilessly sunk into her arm and brought tears to Reimu's cold eyes. Agitated, though equally furious, Reimu retracts her arm from her knife while attempting to ignore the intensifying, coursing pain in her bleeding arm. The cut is decidedly severe; Reimu finds herself at a loss for thoughts on how to go about this wound. In an act of desperation, Reimu rips off her left detached sleeve and tries to wrap the cloth around her wound with only one of her arms, having stored her Purification Rod on her bag beforehand. As she does so, she looks around, focused on her surroundings in case another knife heads her way. As she tightens the cloth around her arm, Reimu winces. Coldly, she notes that this is hardly enough to stop a wound so deep. Not only that, but none of the items she possesses can heal physical wounds. With a grimace, she stares down at her arm, throbbing in pain; it can't be helped. She must trudge on regardless.

 _Ｂｕｔ ｔｈｅｎ， ｔｈｅ ｋｎｉｖｅｓ ｄｉｓａｐｐｅａｒ ａｎｄ ｂａｎｄ－ａｉｄｓ ｒｅｐｌａｃｅ ｔｈｅｍ．_ They are colored green, and gravitate towards Reimu for unknown reasons. Reimu floats away, cautious, but she can't avoid the ones behind her.

Feeling them, Reimu turns around, and finds that it's too late; she has been hit by these mysterious band-aids.

They seemingly fade into Reimu upon direct contact. Reimu feels something apart from pain coursing through her.

Awed by these mysterious projectiles (if she can even consider them such), Reimu looks up at the TV, still in place, but its soul of a different colour: orange. Then, she shifts her gaze to the reddened piece of cloth she had wrapped around her arm. In that precise area, Reimu feels a tingling sensation. Every time another band-aid heads towards her, a feeling of serenity overwhelms Reimu. "The souls..."

Feebly, Reimu raises her arm, attempting to move it. She feels nothing out of the ordinary.

It's as though the wound is no longer there.

The area flickers again, leaving Reimu with no time to give this matter any thought. Reimu finds herself face to face with Flowey, perhaps closer to his body than she had been before. The only proof of what she had been through previously is the cloth still tightened around her arm, which Reimu checks immediately after processing her situation. Putting the surreal happenstance aside, Reimu lunges at Flowey's body, even as bullets circle her. She takes the Purification Rod out of her bag and raises it high before heading for the gap in the circle. The weapon is then quickly lowered towards one of Flowey's eyes, which continues convulsing in place as it ever so slightly reflects Reimu's cold, resolute expression.

 _ **Ｏｒ ｓｏ Ｒｅｉｍｕ ｉｍａｇｉｎｅｄ** _ and, staring at her empty hand, Reimu blinks in confusion. "Wha..." At the sudden compression on her abdomen, Reimu hacks. The circle of bullets has squarely hit Reimu, though they were unable to pierce through her due to their dull edges. The projectiles fade immediately after hurting Reimu, leaving her to set her eyes on the TV: it projects a vague figure, its expressions eerie in nature. "What the..." _What's his trick?_ Ignoring her aching pain, Reimu flies upwards to avoid the second circle of bullets and sets her narrowed eyes on Flowey: his body remains in place, and he hasn't communicated with her at all so far. _Can he just control everything...? **Ｇｏｌｌｙ， ｇｉｖｅ ｔｈｉｓ ｌａｄｙ ａ ｍｅｄａｌ ｂｅｃａｕｓｅ ｓｈｅ'ｓ ｊｕｓｔ ｆｉｇｕｒｅｄ ｏｕｔ ｔｈｅ ｏｂｖｉｏｕｓ！**_ _But he only has six souls. Wouldn't he still need me?_ Reimu dodges another circle of bullets before shifting her gaze to the tubes behind Flowey. _There must be a weakness somewhere. His power is incomplete...!_

Reimu reaches for her amulets, floats away from the next circle and immediately proceeds to throw said amulets towards the tubes. Reimu saw the tube near Flowey's eyes flash at the warning, and the human souls make up his newfound powers; there is a clear connection. Figuring she must strike down whatever constitutes as Flowey's weakness, Reimu watches as the amulets _**ｄｉｓａｐｐｅａｒ ｗｉｔｈｏｕｔ ａ ｔｒａｃｅ**_ and finds herself unsurprised. She rushes forward without warning, her speeds too fast for the last circle to catch up to Reimu. The bullets collide into each other before fading, and Reimu has herself positioned ever so closer to the mysterious tubes; she makes no effort to brandish her weapon. She knows Flowey is making sure to stop her attacks from connecting.

Rather, Reimu's mind dwells on a completely different plan. With her left hand, devoid of any weapon, Reimu reaches for the space in between two tubes. As she it phases through the border, Reimu glances back and clicks her tongue in exasperation at the white, sharp projectiles aimed at her. Her hand still inside the border, Reimu throws herself to the side so as to watch the bullets from a better viewpoint, the front. Her back faces the tubes and her feet touch them directly; they don't seem particularly tough, Reimu notes. At the position she made herself be in, Reimu has a clear view of the projectiles being shot at her, and she immediately smirks at the fact that they are fading upon reaching an incredibly short distance from the tubes. _He must not want them to get hit. I knew it,_ Reimu thinks, _They're a weakness!_

Reimu willfully sinks into the border right before the other projectiles reach her. The projectiles meant to harm her merely fade away as they reach the tubes she had been near, and Reimu observes that momentarily before thorougly taking in the area she is currently in. _It's faint, but I can sense the spiritual power of the Underground's barrier... It looks like he didn't bother erasing the area. Was it expanded, then? This might just be an extension of the dark room that he manipulated into existence. More importantly, though... I can sense spiritual power from the tubes, too. The souls' power is definitely being kept in them!_ Reimu's smirk grows the more she processes the easily-found weakness. "For someone talking big, he sure is lazy. You'd think he'd make things more thorough if he's bothering to make sure I don't attack." _The fact that I was able to enter this place only makes it clear that my powers haven't been erased, either. I've got a chance!_

When Reimu leaves, she comes out of the opposing side of the gap between the two tubes she had entered from: she is at the right, rather than the left. She reaches out for a tube _**ｂｕｔ ｈｅｒ ｐｏｗｅｒｓ ｃｅａｓｅ ｔｏ ａｃｔｉｖａｔｅ．**_ "I guess it wouldn't be this easy..." Reimu bitterly mutters before looking down at her legs from the faint sound she had heard.

It seems her leg warmers, particularly the one covering her right leg, have been cut through. Reimu grimaces before ultimately deciding to distance herself from the tubes for now. She flies past Flowey's body, only to gasp at the sudden unknown object heading straight for her at greatly swift speeds. Its bizarre appearance is difficult to make out at first glance, and even as Reimu dodges past it hurriedly, she isn't left with enough time to process said appearance before being confronted with the presence of two more of these flying abominations. Green in color, seemingly covered in leaves trailing behind an unknown circular mass, the only other clearly visible trait from them is the eerie teeth they display, sharp and deadly. These strange creatures, likely projectiles devoid of their own consciousness roam the area haphazardly, and while the random trajectory would be normally troublesome, Reimu does not see a great challenge in predicting areas that they would be least likely to pass by.

When these strange bullets fade from existence, a familiar alarm resounds. Reimu flies to the side to avoid the vines shot at her _**ｂｕｔ ｔｈｅｙ ｗｅｒｅ ｎｅｖｅｒ ｔｈｅｒｅ ｔｏ ｂｅｇｉｎ ｗｉｔｈ**_ and instead, Reimu's eyes widen at the sudden fire being aimed directly at her. She rushes to conjure a barrier _**ｂｕｔ ｉｔ ｆａｉｌｓ** _ and she is forced to scurry off to the side with a scowl on her face. Though she ever so faintly felt the heat of the flames, she luckily came out of this ordeal without any burns of her own; Reimu glances at the sleeve she had torn. _Getting new ones will be such a pain..._ Reimu throws some amulets Flowey's way, wondering if they actually manage to distract Flowey ever so slightly. Simultaneously, Reimu throws a row of needles.

Seeing as _**ｔｈｅｙ ａｌｌ ｄｉｓａｐｐｅａｒ，**_ Reimu assumes her attacks cannot even amount to such. She sighs before light flickers once more. Reminding herself of her previous injury, she takes to giving special focus on her surroundings. A sharp gaze observes the monitor she had seen the last time, on it projected the very soul that seemed to have helped her before. "Which side are you on, in the end?" Reimu backs away from what she perceives as huge, white gloves spread out from the circle pattern they are currently forming. Seeing a clear safe spot within this circle, Reimu slips in between the gaps between two of these gloves and takes to standing in between the group with an expression of cold caution. All of these gloves have a single hole, mysteriously enough, but Reimu does not take to dwelling on such details. Instead, she accompanies the gloves' movements without hesitation and wonders only if the souls will help her last time, and in what way she can incorporate them in her plan to exterminate Flowey. When she faced Flowey's body after the knives, Reimu's position had changed in accordance to the way she moved in the area, and these sections seem in a way separate from Flowey's control.

For a moment, Reimu looked towards the monitor, as if that could help her in her brainstorming. _If I get to where the tubes are..._ Resolute, Reimu plans out her next attack on Flowey, though her gaze is now turned to the gloves. This pattern is far from a hassle, and far from difficult, precisely like the previous one. In fact, most patterns so far have been laughably easy in the standards of a resident from Gensokyo, with only Flowey's powers standing as the main disadvantage. This only brings light to the frustration she feels over having been so severely hurt by that knife, which she normally would have been able to avoid effortlessly.

To Reimu's pure awe, something reverberates in her ear again, and she blinks at the sight of familiar text:

 **'*Faintly, you hear someone calling your name...'**

Her vision blurs and flickers at the sound, a sound she feels as though she knows but cannot quite make out yet. Is it truly calling her name? Its distance from Reimu makes it so she cannot verify this at all. Disoriented, as though lacking in her senses, Reimu stands in shock for a moment, unable to process either the sound or the projectiles until one forcefully collides with her. "Ugh...!"

This, too, Reimu notes, is constituting as quite the disadvantage to her in this fight. However, Reimu doesn't have the time to think about something as trivial as a sound, even if it has been heavily breaking her concentration. She floats away from the glove that had hit her, _ｎｏｔ ｋｎｏｗｉｎｇ ｔｈｅ ｇｌｏｖｅｓ ｃａｎ ａｌｌ ｈｅａｌ ｈｅｒ ｎｏｗ．_

At the sudden green color in the gloves, Reimu halts. Carefully, she attempts to approach the glove that had damaged her to begin with. She reaches out for it with her hand, and upon contact with her finger, the glove disappears, and a rush of serenity overcomes Reimu. "It looks like I'm being helped..." Reimu mutters as she glances at the monitor, in which a dark blue soul is projected. Swiftly, Reimu heads for the rest of the circle of gloves, as the gloves themselves don't seem to approach her like the band-aids have.

Feeling refreshed, Reimu flies to the Northeast, where she perceives the tubes would be at. "This is my chance!" Reimu takes out a needle and lifts it, readying it for the piercing move she will execute upon the flickering of the lighting.

Reimu flies past even the television, smiling as she does so, unwavering. At the very moment darkness is upon her, said smile only grows as she does not hesitate to continue flying forward.

Reimu plunges her needle down at the first sign of light. Truthfully, something had been pierced by the needles, and something truly stands in front of her. One of the tubes, perhaps one of the slimmest among them finds itself with the tiniest of holes, from which spiritual powers leaks ever so slightly.

 _ **．．． Ｏｒ ｓｏ Ｒｅｉｍｕ ｉｍａｇｉｎｅｄ，**_ and, startled at the fact that she is still holding her needle high despite the fact that she remembers having just used it on the nearest tube, she scowls. "Hey!" Reimu shouts as she back away from the tubes, having realized her plan has no chances of being successful. Instead, she decides to focus her attention on Flowey's body. Another one of the tubes has ceased movement. As Reimu processes the hands forming guns to her left and right, she calls, "Flower monster thing! I know you can hear me!" The sprouting hands (Reimu has neither the time nor patience to note the bizarre imagery) then shoot the very fingers stretched out akin to a gun, behind them white flowers. Reimu focuses on dodging these projectiles for the time being, but glances at the screen. Flowey's face is not on there. "If you're not even bothering with a real fight..." Reimu pauses to quickly move upwards so as to dodge one of the sets of fingers, only to have to drop herself down for that very same purpose. "There's no point to this! None of these patterns are that ruthless! You're not even trying!"

The current pattern fades, but Reimu isn't expecting this to be due to Flowey deciding to speak with her. "If you wanted to make me suffer, you don't look like it! You hear me?!" At the faint sounds she hears from above, Reimu looks up and widens her eyes. Black projectiles are raining down on Reimu in great amounts, enough that Reimu has to reflexively choose a tiny gap from which to move through. She flies up, entering the mound of bombs without hesitation. Reflexively, she keeps her eyes only upwards and moves to the right and left according to the bombs above her, figuring these objects are dangerous to come into contact with her weapons.

Eventually, these projectiles fade. "Hey! I'm trying to talk to you!" _**Ｇｅｅｚ． Ｃａｎ'ｔ ｓｈｅ ｔａｋｅ ａ ｈｉｎｔ？ Ｗｈｏ ｄｏｅｓ ｓｈｅ ｔｈｉｎｋ ｓｈｅ ｉｓ？ Ｓｈｅ ｈａｓｎ'ｔ ｅｖｅｎ ｒｅａｌｉｚｅｄ ｈｏｗ ｈｏｐｅｌｅｓｓ ｈｅｒ ｓｉｔｕａｔｉｏｎ ｉｓ． Ｈｏｗ ｐａｔｈｅｔｉｃ ｃａｎ ｙｏｕ ｇｅｔ？**_ Rather than any direct response, Reimu is met with sharp, white projectiles spreading out through the area, which she notes as easy to dodge. _ **Ｉ'ｍ ｔｏｙｉｎｇ ｗｉｔｈ ｙｏｕ， ｉｄｉｏｔ！ Ｉｆ Ｉ ｗａｎｔｅｄ ｙｏｕ ｄｅａｄ， ｙｏｕ'ｄ ｂｅ ｄｅａｄ ａｌｒｅａｄｙ！ Ｓｅｒｉｏｕｓｌｙ， ｗｈａｔ ｋｉｎｄ ｏｆ ｓｉｃｋｏ ｗｏｕｌｄ ｂｅ ｔｈｉｎｋｉｎｇ ｔｈｉｓ ｗｈｅｎ ｔｈｅｙ ｈａｖｅ ｎｏ ｃｈａｎｃｅｓ ｏｆ ｗｉｎｎｉｎｇ ｔｏ ｂｅｇｉｎ ｗｉｔｈ？！ Ｓｈｅ ｃａｎ'ｔ ｅｖｅｎ ｕｓｅ ｈｅｒ ｐｏｗｅｒｓ！ Ｓｈｅ ｓｈｏｕｌｄ ｂｅ ＴＨＡＮＫＦＵＬ Ｉ'ｍ ｇｏｉｎｇ ｅａｓｙ ｏｎ ｈｅｒ！**_ _It doesn't look like he'll talk to me at all..._ "Fine, be that way! I'll beat you no matter what!" _**Ｂｕｔ ｔｈｅｎ ａｇａｉｎ， ｉｆ ｓｈｅ ｗａｎｔｓ ｔｏ ｓｕｆｆｅｒ ＴＨＡＴ ｂａｄｌｙ．．．**_ _ **Ｉ ｃａｎ ａｌｗａｙｓ ｔｕｒｎ ｕｐ ｔｈｅ ｄｉｆｆｉｃｕｌｔｙ ｆｏｒ ｈｅｒ． Ｈｅｅ ｈｅｅ ｈｅｅ！**_

Suddenly, the sheer amount of projectiles being shot out intensely multiplies to the point Reimu can't see an easy path to avoid them upwards or downwards, as the sharp bullets cover even such heights. Reimu wonders what brought about this change as she ventures into the flurry of bullets, intending to pass through them. Precisely when she starts hearing the familiar warning sound, vines are suddenly shot through the middle of these bullets and towards Reimu, who is forced to quickly and reflexively move to the nearest gap. Because of the nature of the pattern of the white projectiles, Reimu finds herself with the obligation to be in constant movement, as the projectiles stay in constant movement to the sides as well, leaving only the fewest of chances of Reimu to cross over the path they presently block. More vines follow Reimu, who hurriedly passes through the sharp projectiles, grazing them more times than she would have truly liked.

Without warning, Reimu winces. She immediately looks down at her legs, noting the cut up state of the leg warmers Papyrus had given her. However, beyond the cuts, a reddened hue dyed a small area of these legs warmers; pain starts to course through Reimu right leg. Reimu does not have the option to fly back, as there is no perceivable safe spot now that they have gotten so far. Due to this, she has no choice but to continue plowing through. With her left leg, she kicks the vine that had been coming for her and continued to the right, hoping this pattern could finally end. _**Ｇｏｌｌｙ， Ｉ ｍｕｓｔ ｈａｖｅ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｏｖｅｒｄｏｎｅ ｉｔ ｉｆ ｓｈｅ'ｓ ｔｈｉｓ ｏｖｅｒｗｈｅｌｍｅｄ！ Ｎｏｗ ｔｈａｔ'ｓ ｊｕｓｔ ｐｉｔｉｆｕｌ！ ＮＯＴ． Ｎｏｎｅ ｏｆ ｔｈｉｓ ｗｏｕｌｄ ｈａｖｅ ｈａｐｐｅｎｅｄ ｉｆ ｓｈｅ ｈａｄｎ'ｔ ｓｔａｒｔｅｄ ｕｎｄｅｒｅｓｔｉｍａｔｉｎｇ ｍｅ！**_

The pattern fades away, almost as if it had never been there to begin with. Then, darkness settles in the area for but a second, only to reveal the familiar monitor. Reimu sighs in relief. _Alright, at least I can heal myself here..._ Reimu looks up, only to find an impenetrable wall of bullets. She attempts to search for some gap in this supposed pattern but, to her surprise, she finds no such thing. As such, she shifts her gaze to the sides, hoping there would be some hope of moving away from these directions. However, her left and right are similarly closed off, leaving Reimu with only the option to move forward or backwards. With narrowed eyes, she takes in the sight of what she can recognize as shoes swooping down to the area as though unaffected by the bullet wall blocking Reimu. Afterwards, they raise and move in Reimu's direction ever so slightly, leaving Reimu to nod to herself in understanding.

Another easy pattern, Reimu notes. Even so, she knows she cannot let her guard down. She has suffered greatly in these particular moments; she swiftly advances, passing through the first ballet shoe. The other one is lowered, rendering Reimu unable to pass. With the need to focus on her surroundings, Reimu has started to forget about the cut on her leg, which she can only be thankful for. After passing through another shoe, Reimu glances at the screen. Again, the very soul that healed her is projected on it. Are the souls being forced to attack her periodically? Are they starting this themselves? Regardless, Reimu knows for a fact that they also happen to be her only hope.

Still, she wonders, how is it that Flowey allows for these moments to happen, knowing that Reimu can be healed? He surely would notice Reimu being healed. Reimu grimaces, unsure of what to make of this thought. This entire fight is an oddity to begin with. As she continues moving through the row of colossal shoes, Reimu spots the appearance of white letters in front of her.

 **'*Faintly, you hear a voice calling your name...'**

Reimu tenses and scowls, prepared not to succumb to any distractions, but the slight ringing in her ears, as though carefully processing the quiet sound result in a sudden jolt, a flinch, followed by a state of shock Reimu is yet unable to describe. For a second, she smells something different, something foul which she cannot place within the area she currently floats upon. However, the very awareness of this sensation allows for other thoughts to storm her mind, such as ones pertaining the danger in her circumstances. Forcing herself conscious, Reimu floats backwards with a gasp, just before a shoe was to fall down on her. "Again...?" Reimu mutters, slightly disappointed at her failure to avoid the effects of whatever has been inconveniencing her. She quickly passes by the shoe she had backed away from previously and, without warning, _ａｌｌ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｂａｌｌｅｔ ｓｈｏｅｓ ｒｉｓｅ ａｎｄ ｄｉｓａｐｐｅａｒ ｆｒｏｍ ｔｈｅ ａｒｅａ ｂｅｆｏｏｒｅ ｔｈｅ ｏｔｈｅｒｓ ｂｅｃｏｍｅ ｍｕｓｉｃａｌ ｎｏｔｅｓ．_

Reimu looks up, figuring the time has come for this moment to end. Calmly, Reimu heads for a few of the musical note-shaped bullets, which, being now green, seem to have healing effects on her. "I could also use something to fix up my clothes, now that I think about it..."

 _At least the cut's probably okay now._ Surprisingly optimistic and easygoing in light of her situation, especially with her current lack of any plans to beat Flowey, she welcomes the next flicker of darkness without any signs of hesitation.

To Reimu, her own victory is somehow predetermined. _ **Ｗｈａｔ ａ ｊｏｋｅ．**_

Immediately as she finds herself facing Flowey, the mouth of his main body opens wider than before and blinding light begins to surface in between the teeth. Reimu quickly flies to the side and praises her intuition after seeing an incredibly big laser being shot out of that area, one which would have greatly hurt to be in contact with. However, before it even ends, fire is shot starting from her side. Reimu looks towards the laser, still in the way, and finds herself moving upwards so as to avoid a situation so tricky.

When she looks down, the laser is gone. In its place, a myriad of vines chase after her. _This really got challenging all of a sudden..._ Reimu mentally remarks with surprising neutrality, as if this were inconsequential to her. _ **Ｈｏｗ ｃａｎ ｓｏｍｅｏｎｅ ｅｖｅｎ ｂｅ ｓｕｃｈ ａ ｈｏｐｅｌｅｓｓ ｃａｓｅ？ Ｓｈｅ'ｓ ｐｒａｃｔｉｃａｌｌｙ ｄｅｌｕｓｉｏｎａｌ．**_ Reimu drops down while noting that the fire is gone, but the vines continue to relentlessly target her at speeds that force her to be constantly moving. Reimu looks towards the tubes in the horizon with a grimace. _I made it through the gap that other time... Can I manage a next? **Ａｓ ｉｆ！**_ Reimu moves to the side, dodging through a circle of bullets that had attempted to rapidly close in on her body. She flies towards the tubes once more, hoping to rush by the bullet circles, but she suddenly finds herself surrounded by these very same projectiles. Rather than a mere circle threatening her abdomen region, Reimu has been encaged by bullets surrounding the entirety of her body, from head to toe. While there are gaps in between these bullets, they are clearly not large enough for Reimu to slip through.

Relentlessly, these bullets enclose themselves on Reimu, who then swings her Purification Rod at the ones in front of her and sends them flying in the opposite direction, constructing an exit wide enough for her to slip through. However, while she thought the bullets would fade like before, they remain and, unbeknownst to her, are chasing her just as much as the vines currently are, though at slower speeds. Just as she reaches Flowey's body, having intended to pass by it, another mound of bullets blocks her path. She is forced to stop, not wishing to crash into them, but this very pause results in, to her surprise, a sudden collision from behind with the previous bullets that had surrounded her. Feeling this pressure and pain on her back, Reimu immediately removes the projectiles in front of her with her Purification Rod and glances behind her as she flies. _They're still there!_ The pain of the forceful crash into the moving bullets continues to affect her back, but she ignores this for now and heads for the tubes at full speed.

She throws needles towards the remaining bullets, breaking their aim as intended. _The spiritual power he has and these things are connected, there's no doubt about it! If I get these, he's done for!_ Though more bullets block her path, Reimu immediately whacks them away and quickly resumes her movements so the others don't catch up to her _**ｏｒ ｓｏ Ｒｅｉｍｕ ｉｍａｇｉｎｅｄ**_ and, in face of the bullets she is sure she has taken out of her path before, Reimu finds herself scowling.

... Said scowl becomes a smirk. As she closes her eyes, she feels herself slipping away from the dimension she originally would be positioned in. Attempting to float away from her situation and into a border between this area and the one she had faced Asgore in, Reimu had though up a simple plan: to destroy the tubes from within. She would reach the boundary between inside of the tube and outside of the tube from the boundary she moved to and cut it ever so slightly, one by one. It's an energy-consuming plan, one she normally would refrain from executing, but Reimu cannot consider any better alternatives. _**Ｈｏｗｅｖｅｒ， Ｒｅｉｍｕ'ｓ ａｔｔｅｍｐｔ ｔｏ ｆｌｏａｔ ａｗａｙ ｗａｓ ｏｎｌｙ ｐａｒｔ ｏｆ ｈｅｒ ｉｍａｇｉｎａｔｉｏｎ．**_

The entirety of the bullets surrounding Reimu hit her mercilessly, as if Reimu had never swatted some away or come into contact with the others to begin with. As she writhes under the sudden extreme pain, gasping for air, she hears the alarm horn resounding in the area. Fortunately, the bullets fade then, and Reimu, knowing she cannot simply stand around, especially in face of a strangely more challenging phase of patterns, rushes towards a position precisely in front of Flowey's body, in which she faces a sudden stream of sharp projectiles, similar to the very first pattern Flowey had shot at her. However, the amount of bullets and their speed have clearly increased, just like with the last attacks; Reimu bitterly grimaces as she reminisces previous injuries. _I need a weakness,_ Reimu thinks, _There's got to be a time he can't afford to undo my actions._

Before she can really process a better plan, the lighting flickers. Once again, she is to face another human soul, or so she assumes. As the monitor appears, she recognizes a soul colored purple, similar to the one that had healed her previously. Looking towards her left, Reimu sees a sudden barricade of what seem to be notebooks of an exceedingly big size, one which does not seem to have an end after she shifts her gaze up and down; the same applies with her right side, unsurprisingly enough. These notebooks begin to shoot something out of them, something akin to words. Laying eyes on them in a more cautious, thorough fashion, Reimu concludes they are words of a negative nature, such as 'DESPAIR', 'DEATH', among others Reimu is not particularly fazed by. Reimu takes advantage of the vertical space available and moves away from the words heading for her by flying up or down accordingly, keeping an eye out for how, exactly, she should move.

 **'*You can hear a voice calling your name...'**

 _"Reimu..."_ Ever so slightly, Reimu has started being able to make out the type of sound being produced. It truly is her name. Similarly, she continues to feel some sort of familiarity with it, but she cannot concentrate on a detail of this sort in the middle of the incredible confusion her senses are being put through. Her vision yet again hazy and her movements halted, she somehow feels an out-of-place humidity in her vicinity, even if for the briefest of moments.

When the word 'KILL' strikes through her stomach, Reimu sees her current reality once more. "Really, what is this...?" Reimu floats upwards, though a disorienting feeling accompanies her. "What's going on with this fight...?" Before Reimu decides to go further up, _ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｄｓ ｂｅｃｏｍｅ ｐｏｓｉｔｉｖｅ， ｋｉｎｄ－ｈｅａｒｔｅｄ ｏｎｅｓ， ｇｒｅｅｎ ｉｎ ｃｏｌｏｒ．_ Reimu ceases to move, and instead lets the word 'LOVE' phase into her. Then, with a sigh, she lowers herself to reach out for 'HOPE', having given up on processing the nuisance that is the voice calling her name any further. _What I need is a plan..._ "Hey, can you hear me?" Reimu questions as she faces the monitor. A soul colored green is projected on it, and it does not seem to react at all in face of Reimu's voice.

"You're trying to help me, right? I need a chance to hit the flower, but he isn't letting me," Reimu states, paying no mind to the words that come into contact with her as she does so. "I appreciate being healed, but a distraction is the highest priority! If I manage to distract him, I can get him for sure!"

 _．．．_

"You can hear me, can't you? Why don't you answer me?!" As the area becomes dark, Reimu can't help but scowl. "What can I do...?" Reimu mutters, finding the presence of Flowey so natural in this area that she takes no moment to process it. _**Ａｎｄ ｓｈｅ'ｓ ＳＴＩＬＬ ｔｒｙｉｎｇ！ Ｇｅｅ， ｓｈｅ ｍｕｓｔ ｂｅ ｓｏ ｄｅｓｐｅｒａｔｅ！ Ｈａ ｈａ ｈａ！**_ Reimu closes her eyes, as if to focus. _**Ｄｏｅｓ ｓｈｅ ＷＡＮＴ ｔｏ ｇｅｔ ｈｉｔ？**_ Power dwells within her. She can feel it. _It isn't gone... But I need to be able to use it._ Right when she opens her eyes, as if she'd never closed them, Reimu whacks a white projectile away from her, having sensed it beforehand. _It isn't something I can do lightly, but if I use THAT, I might have a chance. He probably doesn't have full control over the area the barrier's delineating._

 _If only I could make an opening,_ Reimu thinks as she dodges fire. "Still, this is kind of getting repetitive, even if it's more challenging..." Reimu nonchalantly remarks as she looks over the strange green projectiles surging and flying through the area in random directions. They remain eerie in appearance, but Reimu sees in them no particular danger. _**Ｔｈａｔ'ｓ ｇｏｔ ｔｏ ｂｅ ａ ｊｏｋｅ．**_ Faced with one of them, its sharp teeth approaching, Reimu only throws a needle at it and lowers herself so as to avoid the sudden vines chasing after her. _Seriously, how many times have I been attacked by vines? **Ｓａｙｓ ｔｈｅ ｗｅｉｒｄｏ ｗｈｏ'ｓ ａｌｗａｙｓ ｔｈｒｏｗｉｎｇ ｍａｇｉｃａｌ ｐａｐｅｒ ａｒｏｕｎｄ！ Ｗｈａｔ ａｎ ＩＤＩＯＴ． Ｉｆ Ｉ ｄｉｄｎ'ｔ ｋｎｏｗ ａｎｙ ｂｅｔｔｅｒ， Ｉ ｗｏｕｌｄ ｈａｖｅ ｔｈｏｕｇｈｔ ｓｈｅ ｗａｓ ａｃｔｕａｌｌｙ ｔｒｙｉｎｇ ｔｏ ｐｉｓｓｉｎｇ ｍｅ ｏｆｆ， ｂｕｔ ｉｔ'ｓ ｎｏｔ ｅｖｅｎ ｏｎ ｐｕｒｐｏｓｅ！**_

As the alarm resounds again, Reimu sees before her the bomb rain she had faced some time ago. It reminds her further of her circumstances: how much time has she spent in this battle already? It must not have been long, at least, as far as Reimu is able to perceive. As she flies upwards in order to better avoid the projectiles, she ponders on whether time is even flowing normally or not in the current dimension she is in. _This clearly isn't a normal space, so maybe no time is actually passing right now._ Expecting the lighting to suddenly flicker, Reimu steels herself not for the incoming patterns, but instead for the voice she knows she will be hearing, even though she is still among a massive amount of deadly projectiles from Flowey.

Finally, for Reimu, the area darkens. _This is where I know I don't have Flowey's influence,_ she thinks, _If the souls can heal me, I can probably use my powers if I want to._ However, this is just a theory, one she has decided to put into practice in this particular moment. Reimu looks up, expecting something to be there and finds gigantic flying pans hovering above her. She moves away from them, and with this action, she starts to see the TV screen over the frying pans. They wobble somewhat, only for what seem to be fire-shaped projectiles to fall from the edges. Reimu finds that they are not directed at Reimu in particular, but that some can reach her depending on the trajectory of their fall. _Another easy pattern, huh..._

Behind Reimu, two ying-yang orbs materialize. As if the projectiles were not even there to begin with, Reimu looks behind her. "They're still here, and they don't look like they're disappearing any time soon," Reimu mutters, "but then again, that flower did make me think I stabbed that tube before undoing it..." Then, she faces the frying pans with a convicted expression as she conjures more and more ying-yang orbs behind her. Without hesitation, Reimu sends them flying towards one of the frying pans and watches them go while floating away from a few of the incoming bullets.

 _"Reimu..."_

 **'*You hear a voice calling your name...'**

However, a chill runs down Reimu's spine and her vision becomes hazy, unable to trace the itinerary she had sent her ying-yang orbs towards. It appears as though she cannot avoid this moment even if she knows it will happen; yet again, Reimu is inflicted with an internal chaos she cannot properly describe. Faintly, she feels a hard surface on her back, but flinches when she loses this sensation as she there is currently nothing supporting her in the air. Now able to process her surroundings, Reimu immediately focuses on the frying pan she had aimed for.

It's wildly torn and bent, clearly by a strong spiritual force. Reimu triumphantly smiles. "I got it! He's done for...!" Slowly but surely, Reimu's plan is coming together, and she regards this in pride, determined to succeed. _Ｍｅａｎｗｈｉｌｅ， ｔｈｅ ｆｒｙｉｎｇ ｐａｎｓ ｓｔｏｐ ｌｅｔｔｉｎｇ ｏｕｔ ｆｉｒｅ．_ Reimu had been planning to strike down the rest of the frying pans, but at the moment she had seen them stop wobbling, even if for some seconds, Reimu finds herself staring at them. Afterwards, _ｅｇｇｓ ａｒｅ ｗｈａｔ ｃｏｍｅ ｏｕｔ．_ Reimu confusedly looks towards the green projectiles, wondering what exactly they represent: eyes...? Perhaps eggs, cooked ones, naturally; Reimu processes this in complete neutrality. "I didn't really need help now, but alright." She refrains from moving even with the projectiles falling on her, but does not go out of her way to touch any of them, either. Smiling in an ever so slightly awkward fashion, Reimu reflexively stares at the leg warmers, which she still wishes could be fixed by these mysterious bullets.

As the area flickers, Reimu thinks, _At least I know what to do now, and it's thanks to them._ More determined than ever, she faces Flowey head on, awaiting his patterns. _ **Ｈｅｅ ｈｅｅ ｈｅｅ．．．**_ She does not find the need to ready any amulets or needles, or to attempt any sort of attack. Reimu calmly watches, even when bullets begin to surround her. She whacks them away in rows, not particularly stressed by their appearance. Even as fire is aimed at her, Reimu merely dodges that before disposing of the rest of the bullets. Presently, she exercises patience as she floats upwards, seeing to it she could dodge the fingers propelled forward. All is to happen in due time; Flowey's attacks do not scare her.

While ridding herself of the bullets that periodically enclose her at the same time as dodging various deadly fingers is considerably challenging, Reimu appears unfazed. A genuine smile remains on her face, along with a preemptively victorious stance. Though she has struggled before, it seems as if Reimu's focus and overall experience make her yet to be hit, with only a considerable amount of bullets grazed through. Reimu can at least appreciate the fact that some of what Flowey has presented to her was legitimately challenging, unlike much of what she had encountered in the Underground. In fact, it is precisely this fight that strikes as the most familiar with the challenges of a duel in Gensokyo despite its great downsides. However, Reimu is an individual who looks forward, past all downsides, and walks on her own path relentlessly.

At this point, no such negativities wander about her mind. Her smile only widens at the alarm's sound. Seeing as she had gone through five of the souls, this may be her last chance. She knows she cannot afford to fail. She won't; such is what she is certain of. Reimu backs away from the vines she spots from the corner of her eye lunging at her and throws a needle towards a bullet she hadn't hit with her Purification Rod. Before she can watch it be sent backwards, Reimu sees complete darkness.

She tenses. Now is the time.

Reimu heads for the first object she sees: she does not recognize it, but she can at least assume it's a type of weapon; firearms are not something Reimu is particularly familiar with. The gun is aimed precisely at Reimu as she flies for it, but even when she does move away, it follows her movements. While approaching it, Reimu continues to move sideways as well, though the gun accompanies her persistently as bullets come out of it. Now close enough to be able to touch the gun, Reimu narrows her eyes; she reaches for the gun.

She can see the boundary she wants to enter: the boundary between the gun's edge and the area. Without hesitation, she floats into it before a bullet can be shot out of the gun and reach her, her gaze expressing only determination. "Alright..." Reimu looks around this dimension, one most normally cannot pass through or process. She senses Flowey, or, at least, the spiritual power he currently possesses. There is no doubt she can reach and surprise him from here, or attack his tubes in a similar fashion from her previous plans. However, this is not Reimu's current goal.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, concentrating. Her success rates aren't particularly high with the move she is about to perform, and she is likely to lose consciousness, but Flowey, too, will likely become unable to exercise any control over her actions, giving Reimu an advantage. Even if Reimu began to tamper with the tubes, she would be noticed; it would result in failure. However, if she succeeds to float further away, she may have a chance to beat Flowey. Feeling herself lighter and lighter, Reimu sees to it she releases herself from all tension, all complicated thought. Ying-yang orbs begin to surround her and circle her at a moderate pace, and only a strong will resides in her mind, apart from any further words she could express. Carrying her own mind farther and farther away from reality while concentrating her own spiritual power, accessing that which she innately possesses, Reimu attempts to float away from reality itself, or, more accurately, space-time; that which Flowey has some control over.

 _"Reimu...!"_

A rush of overwhelming bewilderment overtakes Reimu, who flinches in place and gasps. Feeling heavier than before, though unable to express the extent of her anger over this event, Reimu feels this voice as familiar, even without the aid of the text. However, in the midst of her lacking vision, she notes something.

In the area she is in, she shouldn't have been able to hear this voice. Pain surges in her head, and her senses are bombarded by presences she hadn't before identified. The chaotic feeling looming over Reimu is as though she were being ripped into two, with varying details reaching her mind. Spiritual power, magic she can sense, the boundaries she is able to see; they all flicker. In an attempt to ground herself to the current reality, Reimu searches for Flowey's presence, but comes across others.

Where is Flowey?

Where is the barrier?

Just where is _she_?

"Wha..." Reimu clutches her head in pain, unsure whether she should feel shocked or furious at this development. At this point, she should no longer find herself surprised with the strange ways that voice would haunt her mind, but the fact that it was able to do so while Reimu is in between boundaries is more than odd; it should be impossible unless the voice itself traversed the very same borders. Had it not done so, Reimu would have succeeded in her attack, and her position would have scarcely mattered, as she would be away from any definable area. Her entire course of action had been ruined in but a single moment, rendering her efforts worthless.

Reimu scowls. She decides to return, and flies towards the border she had entered from. In spite of her failure, Reimu does not give up, and instead starts to think of ways to block out the voice. Knowing she is to defeat Flowey, Reimu continues to move forward.

When she returned, the gun was shooting the last of its green clovers before disappearing. Coldly, she assesses her situation. Would more of these moments present themselves? Six of the souls had manifested themselves already. Would there be another chance for Reimu? Reimu ponders on her chances. She is not yet tired, and the fight is clearly far from over, as Reimu is unhurt along with Flowey.

However, against her expectations, Reimu does not face Flowey. The monitor remains, on it projected a human soul that starts floating in her direction. Surprised, Reimu widens her eyes ever so slightly. "What's going on...?" One after another, the souls drift towards Reimu, who stares at them curiously. "You..." The souls shoot out of them projectiles colored green, and Reimu watches as they phase into her, giving her energy. "This isn't really what I need, though," Reimu mutters, slightly troubled. "I need to override his power."

As if in response to her words, ying-yang orbs surge near the human souls. Reimu blinks in confusion and surprise. "Wait, how..." These ying-yang orbs circle Reimu, much like the ones she had previously conjured. She glances at the human souls.

She smiles. "I see."

Reimu brandishes her Purification Rod. "So _that's_ how it is!"

Without warning, Reimu is met with Flowey, but her ying-yang orbs _**ｄｉｓ** — ｒｅｍａｉｎ ｉｎ ｐｌａｃｅ．_ These ying-yang orbs begin to shoot great amount of orbs of light, which spread out through the area.

 **'*A familiar voice is calling out your name...'**

 _"Reimu...!"_

Reimu is ever so slightly shaken, but the refreshing feeling within her drives away this shock, much to her surprise. Somewhat awed, Reimu looks down at herself and the ying-yang orbs nearby, only to smirk. Reimu moves from Flowey's white, sharp projectiles, noting that their speed and quantity has been severely lowered. In fact, Reimu needs only head upwards to avoid the pattern, which barely covers the area. Reimu narrows her eyes: Flowey appears clearly weakened.

Reimu takes this chance to charge at his body, as the vines and bullets surrounding her are clearly not being able to stop her. From behind her, gigantic orbs of light materialize and gather in a single point, preparing to be shot out among the smaller ones. She throws amulets of her own while whirling to the side so as to avoid the vines, startled at the fact that they suddenly gained speed. In fact, all of Flowey's patterns gained speed without warning, and Reimu finds herself looking down at the white bullets; their numbers have clearly multiplied. The gigantic orbs of light are finally sent flying, but their trajectory is roundabout, and they end up colliding with a fair amount of Flowey's projectiles as well as Reimu's. The ones that did hit Flowey do damage him, as he lets out otherworldly cries each time he enters into contact with Reimu's attacks.

Throwing amulets at the vines, Reimu paralyzes the ones that had been coming for her and conjures a barrier that blocks off the fingers that flew from her right. While Reimu's own bullets take to attacking Flowey, Reimu finds herself distracted dealing with the many strange attacks Flowey was chaotically throwing at her, which leaves her with little time to actually approach his body. Still, as she attempts to reach out for him, Reimu directs her barrier upwards, towards the incoming bombs which explode after hitting the barrier and propel Reimu downwards. She whacks the bullets beneath her with her Purification Rod and conjured a barrier at that very same position in order to stand without being pushed down by the bombs. Then, seeing the fingers heading towards her and the bombs fading, Reimu shoots off both barriers to her left and right and flies for Flowey at full speed. The fingers are forcefully pushed back by these barriers for a considerable moment as Reimu brandishes her Purification Rod, verifying she is close. The pressure put on the barriers by the numerous projectiles stuck flying the opposite direction eventually breaks them, but at that point, Reimu can almost poke Flowey's mouth are with her weapon.

Many orbs of light and magical amulets continue flying through the dark area, giving it light, but the chaos is further intensified by the flurry of Flowey's own bullets and random patterns mixed into them, which Reimu still finds herself having to dodge in an attempt to get to Flowey as fast as possible. His moans of pain become louder and louder as she approaches, but so is a tingling feeling in her mind and the ringing of her ears for a sound she is attempting to ignore. Though Reimu is not even exactly sure how far she has damaged Flowey, she raises her Purification Rod in one swift motion and lowers it just as quickly onto Flowey with as much force as she can possibly muster, as if to make up for all of her own wounds and trouble. **"Take that!"**

Flowey's body ever so slightly shakes.

All of his bullets fade simultaneously.

As Reimu distances herself from Flowey, knowing precisely what this means, she remains with an easygoing smile as she watches Flowey contort and convulse, wavering. "No... _No!_ " Flowey exclaims in a voice of pure desperation and panic, "This can't be happening!"

"That's what you get for messing with me!" Reimu confidently states as she stares at Flowey in an almost cheerful fashion, as if nothing had truly happened. As if she were no longer burdened by whatever Flowey had done to her.

"You..." Flowey resentfully mutters as light begins to emmit from his form, "YOU...!" Then, as blinding light flashes over the room, Reimu further asserts her victory against Flowey, without a shadow of a doubt.

 ** _．．． Ａｎｄ ｔｈａｔ ｗａｓ Ｒｅｉｍｕ'ｓ ｌｏｎｇ， ｌｏｎｇ ｄａｙｄｒｅａｍ ｂｅｆｏｒｅ ｔｈｅ ｂａｔｔｌｅ．_**

Reimu's eyes widen in pure shock. "Huh...?!"

Flowey's smirking face is projected onto the screen of his body. "You **IDIOT."** Reimu's hands tremble, but not in fear. Sheer fury overflows from Reimu, whose headache now worsens. "You don't learn, do you?" Flowey's smirk contorts into a sinister smile, as his eyes hollowly widen in size. "You can't beat me." The entirety of his stem darkens, leaving only a faint smile outlined in smile beyond two tiny white circles for eyes. "I am the _GOD_ of this world." Then, a toothy grin surges and overcomes most of his stem, with slinted eyes staring down at Reimu condescendingly. "You never stood a chance against _ＭＥ！_ " Flowey's normal smirk returns. "But it was fun watching you try. Boy! You were just SO determined to beat me! At least I didn't get bored watching you."

Reimu watches Flowey with exceedingly cold eyes. "I've dealt with enough of your whims," Reimu states in an unfeeling, impersonal manner, almost as if muttering to herself. Then, she furrows her eyebrows, displaying the full extent of her fury. "If you don't stop this right now, I'll come at you without any mercy, no matter how many times it takes! I'm not about to be killed by someone like you!"

Flowey frowns, almost impatiently so. "Do you even listen? Just face it already! You're HOPELESS! You don't have any choice!" Suddenly, Reimu finds herself encaged in bullets, with the gaps making Flowey only barely visible. Even so, Reimu sees the screen projecting eerie red and green, deranged-looking eyes and a confident grin. "You're gonna die and there's nothing you can do to stop it!" His eyes flash dangerously, alternating between red and green upon the exclamation, while Reimu only grimaces, as if troubled. **"ＹＯＵＲ ＳＯＵＬ ＩＳ ＭＩＮＥ！"**

While Reimu assumes a fighting stance, Flowey maniacally cackles in light of the utter despair of Reimu's situation, even if Reimu herself is clueless to it. The bullets quickly close in on Reimu, who manages to whack a few of them to the side out of reflex, but is not fast enough to take off and avoid the bullets behind her from the overwhelming speeds of the others, which did not compare to the bullets of her previous fight with Flowey.

However, even though the bullets did come into contact with her, they did not hurt Reimu. They mysteriously have no effect on her, and Reimu cannot help but regard this with curiosity and confusion while staring straight at Flowey, as if expecting answers. Flowey had stopped laughing in consequence of this, equally confused. "What...? How'd you...?" he utters, momentarily bewildered. However, he recomposes, ever so slightly exasperated. "Well, I'll just..." Though Flowey creates a few bullets, they immediately fade. "Wh..." Lacking in consistency, all of the projectiles Flowey attempts to create to shoot down Reimu fail to fully materialize. Reimu watches this cautiously, unsure if it's a trap from Flowey; she refrains from taking this chance to attack. "Where are my powers?!"

Then, to the surprise of both Reimu and Flowey, the six human souls come out of Flowey and circle his body. "The souls...?" Startled, his crooked eyes shift to each side, verifying that the souls are indeed hovering nearby. "What are they doing?" Suddenly, further shocking Reimu and Flowey, the souls begin to rapidly fly in a circle around Flowey, who begins to wildly convulse. "No! NO!" Each part flashes a different color from the human souls and shakes uncontrollably, as if being pulled apart by each second. **"YOU CAN'T DO THAT! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO _OBEY_ ME!"** Similarly, Reimu's headache grows stronger, but she cannot afford to miss a single second of the sight she is currently laying eyes on. **"STOP! STOP IT!"**

 _ **"STOOOOOPPPPPP!"**_

A flash of light blinds Reimu from Flowey's true destruction, one she has yet to even truly confirm. Had he been beaten? Stopped? Killed?

 _"Hey..."_ a voice mutters from afar, a voice she can recognize.

 _"Reimu..."_ The pain only intensifies.

When even the light faded, the souls were nowhere to be found, and Flowey's disturbing form had disappeared along with them. The pain, too, seems to settle down just enough that it does not severely break Reimu's concentration. Reimu frantically looks around, processing the familiar surroundings; the surroundings belonging to the room closest to the barrier.

Reimu smiles. This time, Flowey has been defeated, indefinitely so.

Momentarily, Reimu bitterly notes that she wasn't the one who beat him, but lets it slide in light of Flowey's unfair handicaps.

"Uh, howdy."

Confused and curious at the familiar voice from the opponent that should have disappeared, she looks down, at the voice's source. While she expected, strangely enough, to see Flowey in front of her as she had heard his voice, she had assumed he would seem more resentful and damaged. At least, she thought he would show signs of any battle having happened between them.

However, Flowey appears unscathed and his expression uncharacteristically awkward despite the usual smile. "You sure are strong. You took care of everything without breaking a sweat. And I'm not talking about the fight we had just now." Flowey looks to the side, as if thoughtful. "You acted the same way throughout the whole journey. You weren't scared at all." He then smirks. "Do you realize just how much of a weirdo you are? Anyone would have at least been a little freaked out after seeing me like that. But then again, I guess I should have expected that out of you with the way you're so neutral about everything."

 _"Reimu...!"_

Slightly confused, Reimu remarks, "For a flower who just got beat up, you look pretty lively."

Flowey winks. "Maybe I just learned my lesson like you wanted me to. How about that?" Reimu narrows her eyes, seemingly unconvinced. However, something about him is strangely genuine now; Reimu feels this, somehow. "Still, you're something else. You might just be more stubborn than THEM, and that's saying a lot. I wonder how things really would have gone if you'd been there. I mean, this is pretty close but it's got its limitations. You can't even RESET." As if to assess Flowey's intentions, Reimu remains quiet, having concluded he seems to want to speak. "By the way... Were you going to kill me?" Despite the morbid question, Flowey still seems to be wryly smirking, as if amused. "Be honest now. I want to know your answer."

 _"Reimu...!"_ The voice grows louder, breaking Reimu's concentration and stopping her from immediately processing Flowey's words.

"Go on." Flowey slyly narrows his eyes. "It's not like I'll feel bad about it even I wanted to, so you can tell me you wanted me dead all the times you want. Sounds fun, right? Heck, _I'D_ want me dead if I were you. Why would I spare a nuisance as obvious as that? I'd have to be stupid not to take the chance." Then, surprisingly, Flowey dejectedly frowns. "At least, that's what _I_ would've picked."

Reimu grimaces, somewhat troubled. "You sound like you _want_ to be exterminated. Is that really a question or a request?"

 _"Reimu!"_ The voice continues calling for her, loudly so. Her senses start to waver ever so slightly. Unbeknownst to Reimu, she is trembling.

"Darn it," Flowey begrudgingly mutters. "It looks like I really don't have much time left. Anyway, just ignore whatever it is that's bringing you back and answer the question already. I REALLY don't wanna know what she'll do to me if you don't."

Reimu's grimace only deepens, as Flowey's demeanor becomes even more confusing to her. That, combined with the headache she is feeling along with an astounding lack of energy, serves to greatly sour Reimu's mood. "What are you even talking about? It's not like the Underground is any of my business."

"Imagine it happened in Gensokyo, then! What would you do?" Flowey insistently questions, earning a skeptical look from Reimu.

Reimu barely manages to cross her arms, though she isn't aware of how slowly she executed such a basic gesture. "If it happened in Gensokyo...? That's not even worth thinking about. I'd just beat you up and be done with it. You're not anything special where I come from. I deal with troublemakers all the time, and I'm certain you're not going to be the last one! As long as you follow the rules, that's how it'll always be."

Despite the clear answer, Flowey appears unsatisfied. "So you'd SPARE me?" However, he then smirks, as if to brush whatever thoughts he had off. "And here I thought you had it in you." He winks. "What a shame! It looks like you people just won't let me die! Well, I got everything I wanted out of you, so this is goodbye for now." Flowey wistfully looks to the side, though he seems to be smiling. "To be honest, it was fun watching you. You really changed everything up just by being there. Maybe this Gensokyo place won't bore me for longer than I thought if it's full of people like you."

 _"Reimu...!"_

"Just..." Reimu mutters, her voice strained from the lack of focus. "Who even are you?"

Flowey gives Reimu a vacant look. "Can't you tell?" Flowey smiles. "It's me, Flowey! Flowey the flower! I've been watching you from the start. You remember seeing me, right? You even threw an umbrella at me once." At the memory, Flowey grimaces. "You better not do THAT again. I didn't think I'D be the one dodging something in here."

"You're different; I can tell." In face of an uncharacteristically tired, pained Reimu, Flowey watches with a smile. "You're not the flower that was beat up just now." _Just what is going on...?_ "You..." Flowey only watches. Or so Reimu thought.

 _"Rise and shine, Reimu."_ In the midst of the pain and confusion, Reimu doesn't hear this from Flowey. Afterwards, everything seems to fade in front of her without warning.

"Found ya...!"

Faintly, she feels something solid on her back; she smells something foul, perhaps even toxic; she takes note of a strange humidity in the area. Simultaneously, her closed eyelids feel heavy. "Wait..." Her eyes had been closed. Even now, she struggles opening them.

"Geez, give me a break. What's got you passed out in the Forest of Magic, huh?"

Reimu listens to the familiar voice, the one that had been calling out for her. "Marisa...?" she mutters as if in a daze, utterly disoriented and fatigued.

"Oh, you're awake? Sure don't look like it."

It truly is Marisa, Reimu faintly notes. More and more, she feels the urge to awaken despite her lack of energy. Slowly, groggily, Reimu attempts to fully open her eyes. While they do open somewhat, her vision is blurry, unfocused and Reimu can only barely make out Marisa's blond hair and dark clothing towering in front of her laid down self for the time being. "What are you... Doing...?"

"That's my question. I'm not the one sprawled out on the ground of the Forest of Magic."

Reimu blinks in an attempt to focus, but she still feels heavy, and her eyes are unwilling to truly open. "Marisa, what are you... Talking..." While Marisa expected Reimu to continue speaking, to at least finish her question, Reimu becomes suddenly silent.

"Hey, Reimu? You okay over there?" Marisa awkwardly asks, uncertain of how to act upon this sort of situation. "Reimu?" Marisa squats and shakes Reimu without much care. "C'mon, wake up. It's not even nighttime yet. You can't just be sleepy for no reason." Despite her best efforts (which are rather minimal), Reimu continues fast asleep, almost unnaturally so. Troubled, Marisa grimaces. "Seriously, what's gotten into her? I can't just carry her to the shrine like this."

Marisa stands up and looks around. "Let's see..." Thoughtfully, she takes note of her surroundings. "This place is closest to..." Then, she curiously nods to herself. "Alice's house, huh?" she blankly utters as she processes the location. However, she quickly finds herself smirking before shrugging in a seemingly innocent fashion. "Can't be helped, then."

Marisa shifts her gaze to a sleeping Reimu, and, unbeknownst to herself, her expression softens. "To Alice's house it is for now."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

And there you have it! If I were that much of a dick, the story would've ended here lol But nope, I don't like inconclusive stuff, so I'm pretty sure you'll know at least 90% of everything that went down on the next chapter. Anyway, I really thought I was in for the fiesta of fiestas, man. I thought I was gonna have sooo much fun. I mean, I was writing Flowey of all characters. Flowey's fun to write.

But, naturally, things never go as planned for me and the fiesta turned into my best pesadilla with how much I was struggling to write Flowey. This time, the problem was that I had all these plans for conversations, but couldn't fit any in. I REALLY wanted to fit them in, though. However, I was unable to and had to face the fact that Flowey would just tell Reimu she'd die painfully and Reimu would be unfazed. Another part that took the fiesta out of my FF was that, simply put, Reimu gives no fucks whatsoever ^^' As such, it was also hard to predict what Reimu was gonna say, or how Flowey was gonna react. Was he gonna be amused or angry? I'd bet angry, to be honest, because Flowey's an immature lil shit. However, I don't think he'd be deeply furious or anything. I take it like he's watching someone playing a game: sometimes you get angry at the person you're watching, but ultimately you're invested. That was basically Flowey in this chapter throughout the fight, really.

Beyond that, another reason the fiesta became a pesadilla was the fact that Flowey was being mean to me ;_; Well, to us all, but still, I'd always laugh because I'm basically using Flowey to bully myself. I bet Flowey would call me a sicko for that lol! I do love predicting how Flowey would react to things. It's just fun thinking of what Flowey would do in X situation. That's primarily why I set up Floweytale in general. I mean, I knew I had to take liberties for Flowey's fight so as to make it more feasible for the literary format it's in. After all, while Flowey's fight was centered on the fact that it was a game, this story isn't a game. As such, I couldn't just make the whole thing be centered on its game nature and symbolism as it would have no meaning. So, from the very beginning, I knew I was going to take advantage of the fact that I'm WRITING instead of playing for the boss fight and spice things up. Due to this, the fight became centered in this story NOT being a game, which is just as planned. Breaking the fourth wall with Flowey is a given, and I knew I was going to have Flowey have power over the writing because of the format change, so I naturally was planning on Flowey tampering with the narration, but then there was his mean-spirited commentary, which I struggled with.

Look, I love writing Flowey. I really do. But I was very unsure as to how much I wanted Flowey to destroy the Fourth Wall: did I want him to just berate Reimu? To berate my writing? To berate the fact that he's in fanfiction and the readers? Just how far did I want to go? Was it actually a good idea to go for this whole breaking the Fourth Wall idea? For a while, I even considered not having any Fourth Wall breaking. However, that would immediately wreck a lot of plans I had for this chapter in particular, so I decided to keep the Fourth Wall breaking and devised something that would save my story in all aspects. This something, though I won't tell you exactly what it is, has basically enabled me to have the cake and eat it too, and really improved the chapter. I have no complains on that end. In general, Flowey finds himself more focused on Reimu than us, but he also paid some attention to my mediocre, meh writing and I effectively got bullied. It kinda hurt having to say you don't have any standards even though I don't mean it. Seriously, don't worry! No matter what Flowey says, all of you are wonderful people!

A concern I had with this chapter is that perhaps, I was exaggerating on Flowey's name-calling. As much as when someone thinks of Flowey, they imagine him calling someone an idiot, I can't just have him always calling people idiots. It's just unnatural. Besides, Flowey is much more than someone who calls other people idiots, and I got kind of depressed at the fact that I might not have done Flowey any justice, as he can be very entertaining to use if used correctly! His personality really should've allowed for good commentary, so if it isn't good, it's just my fault. I didn't want to be repetitive in Flowey's dialogue, and I especially watched out for words that he would probably not say this time around. Lately, I've been more and more like that. When I wrote chapter 1, I noted, I wrote Flowey in a much more carefree manner; I just sort of went wild with Flowey. The present me would've probably done the conversations he has with Reimu at the beginning in a completely different manner. I might just go change it eventually. But then again, if that were to ever happen, I'd probably re-write the entirety of Chapter 1. It could totally use some re-writing.

Whatever the case, Flowey is great. He's so expressive, it's actually fun thinking up what faces he'd be using for every piece of dialogue... But not so great having to describe them sometimes because it feels kind of jarring having the flow of the conversation be stopped by constant expression shifts. Even so, I do love the way Flowey can do so much with just his stem. In my Author's Notes of Chapter 1, I didn't talk about Flowey much even though I wrote him, and when I didn't say much about Flowey in my Author's Notes of Chapter 14 (which you never got to see because of Flowey, but I wrote them), it was because I knew I'd be ranting about him in here, where I'd be constantly watching out for Flowey. When it comes to Flowey, I keep very strict guidelines. I mean, with most characters, the guidelines are faint and I sort of go with the flow like how Papyrus tends to write himself so easily, but Flowey's different. With him, I always keep the following things in mind: Flowey feels emotions, but no empathy; Flowey's put a lot of time into his shenanigans, but he's a child at heart and immature as a result; Flowey is very smug and usually looking down on others, probably as compensation as he always feels as though he's being threatened somehow (so he's insecure); Flowey's into mock feeling bad for stuff and likely doesn't hold back on snark; Flowey's speech patterns are never to be forgotten, never, never, never; in the end, Flowey is Asriel and they are never to be treated as separate entities even if Asriel himself sees Flowey as something unlike himself.

I especially try to keep the last guideline in mind. If you think about it, everything that Flowey is stems (badum-tss) from Asriel's personality applied to his circumstances. So, basically, Flowey is Asriel when he happens to have no soul and yada yada yada. As such, there should always be traces of Asriel in Flowey's actions and dialogue. You'd think this wouldn't help in writing Flowey, but it really does. It especially helps when you think of writing Flowey after the Pacifist ending. I mean, you'd think 'But when you wanna make him all evil, it's not that helpful' but it also is. If you understand Asriel, you ultimately understand Flowey. By keeping Asriel close to me whilst I write Flowey, I feel closer to Flowey, as well. Though, this fact would likely sadden Asriel lol But really, this guideline is basically what makes me most in tune with Flowey, and it REALLY helped me out in this chapter.

While someone souless doesn't sound all that interesting, Flowey's rather interesting because of the way his lack of empathy affects how he interacts with his surroundings, combined with the effects of Asriel's personality. A thing I tend to note about other fics portraying Flowey is that Flowey tends to be written as too mean, which sounds dumb, but I mean this in the manner he's mean: he's too much 'I WANT TO KILL EVERYONE BECAUSE I HATE EVERYONE DID I MENTION I HATE EVERYBODY YOU IDIOT' mean rather than the sort of snarky, smug, manipulative mean he tends to actually be. Also, Flowey is not tsundere. No, please. Just no. I honestly like writing Flowey and reading about Flowey precisely for his soulless personality, so it's always kind of disappointing when he ~actually cares but doesn't show it, b-baka~. The dynamic is intriguing precisely because he CAN'T care. But that's just me, I suppose. And I'm a fan of that whole AU where Frisk brings Flowey with them to the surface; just really hoping I'll find a fic of that AU I like ^^' Also, I mentioned it before, but Flowey's totally the kind of character you just like putting in all sorts of different situations. Like, just having Flowey react to anything brings me joy. It's in the same vein I also like Sans reacting to anything: it's like they both have a personality that makes them especially interesting to look at in terms of reactions. As such, I really love writing Flowey (and Sans).

My love basically overflows from every Author's Note I mention him in, I'm really glad he didn't notice that part when he was in control of the story, hahaha... Conversely, my narrator seems to love Reimu. I only noticed it now, but the narrator's biased towards Reimu and it shows. I guess my love for Reimu also overflows in this fic, even though Reimu isn't my favorite character (but then again, Flowey isn't my favorite character either). Regardless, Reimu did perform well in this chapter. In general, the whole chapter is the story's climax, so it's one big boss fight. As always, Reimu just doesn't give a fuck and tries to beat Flowey and, more than the fight itself, I really found it intriguing how Reimu was just trying and trying and trying to come up with a way to beat Flowey as she went through the fight: her ideas were very neat to me. Meanwhile, Flowey's otherworldly appearance and patterns are hard to write, and it's equally awkward coming up with ways to write dodging in an entertaining fashion. Seriously, how do I make constant dodging interesting?

Still, though the patterns themselves weren't very difficult for Reimu, she ends up suffering a lot, huh? Believe it or not, I originally was gonna have Reimu suffer even more than she did here: in the beginning, I thought Reimu would face off against Flowey and get injuries all over because of his attacks, like burns and heavy cuts, and the finale would be this really dramatic thing where she'd be determined even despite how battered she is and even despite the fact that death may just truly loom over her... But this is Reimu. Reimu wouldn't have not been able to dodge most of what Flowey throws at her. As such, she couldn't get all that hurt. Instead, things sort of became the opposite of my plans, with Reimu not even really caring about Flowey's threats and the risk; Reimu's just moving forward. She set out to beat Flowey, and that's what she'll do. I feel like that suits Reimu better, to be honest. Hahaha, I did love the way Reimu just went like 'Man, Flowey's patterns are boring and easy and repetitive' and got under Flowey's skin unknowingly XD In the end, she never figured out why things suddenly got more challenging. Speaking of challenging, I'm so glad for my improvisation skills, because they managed to make things less repetitive.

We all know what Flowey tends to use. And while I used that at first, I was mostly dryly thinking about how much this chapter might actually not be that epic a climax with my shitty action writing. However, the fact that I had Flowey give Reimu more challenging patterns really spiced things up, as having Reimu move around in a more meaningful fashion is key to making the action interesting. Beyond that, Reimu tries to use a lot of her powers, even the one about floating away from reality in here, huh? Reimu wanted to use Fantasy Heaven, but no can do because of that pesky Marisa XD Naturally, she didn't know she was making Reimu lose, but she basically was with how she was bringing Reimu back to reality.

While I seriously struggled through most of the action regarding the shifts between the human soul patterns and Flowey's, the Finale part of the fight was actually much more refreshing. Limiting Reimu limits the action, even if it's a necessary handicap, but it ends up killing a lot of cool moves I could've done with Reimu. At least, that's what I realized when I got to the final part, as Reimu using all of her available powers is much more liberating to write. I think it's because I can make her do all these neat tricks and stuff, but the Finale part was such a moment. It was such flowing action, and I loved the way Reimu ended it with the first direct blow from the Purification Rod, the mental image is just great in my mind and a good way to end the climax... Only for Flowey to undo everything Reimu worked for. Oh man, Reimu was pissed ^^' At that point, I was actually struggling to coordinate Marisa with the current action, but surely it's worked out? Marisa sure yelled for her lol And it's mostly because she thought Reimu would've been awake to respond to her at that point since it'd been so long since her disappearance.

While the action and so on was nice and I did especially like the Finale part of the battle, my favorite part of the chapter is definitely the final conversation with Flowey and the last part with Marisa. So, basically the whole ending was the best for me. There was a lot behind that talk with Flowey, a lot you most likely didn't understand. Don't worry; Reimu didn't get it either (sounds like something Marisa would say lol). Maybe you'll get it later. However, if you find yourself differentiating Reimu's reality and Marisa's, you might just get an answer to the mysteries behind Flowey's words. I'd gush about the conversation some more, but there's no way I can do that without saying something... Unnecessary. As such, I'll get into Marisa! Congrats, Marisa! You found Reimu!

I originally planned on Marisa making a joke about idiots and colds or do some sort of snarky remark about Reimu being asleep but Marisa... Probably wouldn't have actually done that. Instead, I feel Marisa would be mainly troubled by the situation. Like 'Oh wtf she's asleep? Oh wait she's awake wait wait don't go to sleep how am I supposed to carry your heavy ass now damn it' or something along those lines, except less grumpy; Marisa isn't very grumpy. Still, she didn't think she'd have to go through this much to find Reimu, and while Reimu's mind was completely scrambled at the time, Marisa was just as confused about Reimu's state. I did love Marisa's dialogue. Reimu and Marisa are such eternal bros. The dynamic between Marisa and Reimu is pretty great. Whatever the case, the next chapter is the ending! Look forward to that? At least, I do hope you'll look forward to the final chapter!


	16. Chapter 16

**First Words:**

* * *

 **Guest - You know, I actually agree with you. There was a lot of untapped potential in regards to actually crossing over Touhou and Undertale in this story. In a sense, I got so caught up in Reimu being in the Underground to begin with that this story didn't have much of an opportunity to showcase those sorts of aspects. It was really because the entire point was the what-if scenario, and if I make a story with theme X but then continue on to Y, it'll feel kind of unnatural. But maybe that's just me. I mean, in a way, there is more to what you saw in Chapter 15 (which is what Chapter 16 is for), so I can't say your hypothesis is wrong ^^ Whatever the case, thank you very much for reviewing!**

Since I wasn't able to say it in the last chapter because of Flowey, since Chapter 15's release, the story had gotten 2 favorites and 8 followers; and since this chapter, the story got 4 favorites and 1 follower. Anyway, this is it, huh? I won't say much here. Everything I needed to say is probably in the Author's Notes, anyway.

Whatever the case, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 16: What Begins From the Unsubstantial in the Land of Fantasy**

* * *

The Dream World.

As a sea of all dreams, it stretches out infinitely, filled with the spatial wonders of the depths of every subconscious. At present, its starry, fantastical scenery remains ever so peaceful and serene, but such had not been the case four days ago.

Simply thinking about this has Doremy Sweet sigh. Truly, a most unexpected, troublesome incident had occurred in the Dream World, and she had been assigned to not only investigate, but report the extent of the damage caused by the sudden rampage. She hadn't been the only one, that she also knew well, but the workload was still unwelcome, and she would have much preferred the current peace she is gazing upon.

Even now, she is unaware of the purpose of the incident. Regardless, she reminisces on a conversation with one of the victims involved, a baku just like herself:

 _"... They were no ordinary youkai," she told Doremy in an ominous fashion, as if attempting to garner fear from her in the same way she had suffered while subjected to the rampage. "At first, I thought the vines weren't real since this is the Dream World. I mean, anyone could've just taken advantage of how the Dream World works to shoot them out, right? But they were physical vines. It's like they were made real somehow!"_

 _"Well, you did say one of them was a flower," Doremy responded, pensive. The way she had frowned upon her fellow baku's testimony only served to indicate the skepticism she felt in regards to her claims. "Perhaps he had the power to conjure vines to begin with, who knows? I'll ask this again, but are you sure that was the flower's physical body?"_

 _"I've no doubt about it: that was the flower's physical body!" the baku exclaimed as if she, too, found the information hard to believe and needed to assert it. "The other youkai was dreaming, but it's like something was connecting the flower to the Dream World. There were these strange eyes under him, and it looked like the other youkai was controlling them. They were both crazy strong! Before I knew it, I had vines wrapped around me and couldn't move!"_

Doremy only grimaces at the memory. "Really, a flower...?" she wryly mutters. Regardless, she notes, that baku appeared rather distressed even a day after the incident; it must have been quite the experience. Doremy can only consider herself lucky she had been busier with other matters that day, or else she would have been one of the few who had to face the perpetrators directly. Apparently, the two youkai in charge of the attack were strong enough to face off against the youkai of the Dream World in their natural environment and win, to the point where they even captured and forced one to act according to their wishes. When Doremy attempted to interrogate this baku, she had only been able to tell her that they had forced her to tamper with the dreams of two people.

The dreams of people currently in Gensokyo. While Doremy is familiar with those of Gensokyo and, in fact, manages many of the dreams of that area, she had never considered anyone from their population to plan something as dangerous as manipulating dream souls and forcing a dream on someone; she had never believed they would directly involve themselves with the Dream World to begin with, at least willingly. "How truly troublesome and dangerous..." she remarks, though, despite her words, the extent of the danger that the incident implies brings out a crooked smile from her, as if she is still reconsidering the validity of the events she had not participated in.

In light of the descriptions provided by the victims, Doremy had a solid notion of the perpetrators, or at least one of them; no matter how much she attempted to search for him, the referenced flower entity had no traces of a dream soul. Conversely, after the slightest research into the dreams of varying residents of Gensokyo, she had quickly ascertained whose dreams had been tampered with. In fact, Doremy had even taken to re-arranging them this very day, as she was unscathed in comparison to her other colleagues. However, as much as she knows every party involved, she scarcely knows or wishes to know the reasons behind this disturbing incident.

Narrowing her eyes, Doremy finds herself only genuinely wishing no more disturbances befall the Dream World.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"By the way, do you suppose the feast will start today?"

Yet again, Youmu hears this carefree question from Yuyuko in the morning. Ever since Reimu's retrieval, Yuyuko had seemed to get the impression that a feast would be held in order to celebrate Reimu's safety. At least, that was what Yuyuko felt like experiencing. Youmu shakes her head. "I don't think so. I haven't heard any news on Reimu's end."

Elegantly sat by a table of her residence, clasping a cup of tea with both hands, Yuyuko's cheerful smile contrasts with the lack of liveliness supposedly inherent of the Netherworld. "Oh my, what a shame." Despite her words, her smile remains bright. "At least, the fact that she isn't yet here proves she's still alive, so the feast will likely start soon."

"Well, the Oni did plan for one, after all," Youmu vacantly responds, unsure of what else to say. After having this conversation three times already, she struggles to come up with anything else. She wonders if Yuyuko has simply been forgetting the conversations and thinking this is the first time.

"It will be quite rowdy, won't it? I'm looking forward to it," Yuyuko remarks in a carefree fashion before humming in a seemingly pensive manner. "Still..." Yuyuko narrows her eyes. "Putting aside Reimu's condition, everything went very smoothly, wouldn't you think so?"

Confused, Youmu's frown deepens. "I'm not sure, Lady Yuyuko. What exactly do you mean with that?" This is new, Youmu notes. Before, Yuyuko would simply speak of what food and drinks to expect or tease Youmu for her behavior in feasts. Now, however, Yuyuko has posed a question she does not quite comprehend. This, too, isn't something Youmu wouldn't put past Yuyuko, but it is still unexpected due to the repeating topic.

"You don't know? I told you Yukari was the one who sent you out," Yuyuko says as she lets the empty cup of tea rest on top of the table.

"Oh." Youmu slowly nods the more she thinks of Yuyuko's words. "So you mean the mountain incident? As you said, everything did go smoothly since I never had to interfere. Though, admittedly enough, I didn't figure this would be a concern of yours now."

"You don't figure that because even you know I'm not referring to the mountain," Yuyuko softly retorts, seemingly without any particular negativity towards Youmu. "If you think about it, why did Yukari even request me to send you out to begin with?"

Youmu awkwardly scratches her head while pensively looking to the side. "Uh, to solve the incident?"

"You are partially right," Yuyuko says, "but you're not quite there yet. Didn't she request something else out of you as well?"

Youmu blinks in confusion. "Something else?" In the midst of reminiscing, Youmu becomes silent for a few moments. "If anything, I had also needed to report anything I found, but isn't that also related to the incident?"

"Well, that's why you're only partially right, Youmu; because you're seeing it wrong," Yuyuko explains, "You're thinking about the incident as if it were the central point of the request when the report is the actual focus. Your mission was only to solve the incident if necessary, remember?"

Youmu crosses her arms, still deep in thought. When Yuyuko begins to pose these sorts of questions and logic, it tends to be because she wants Youmu to learn something. As such, Youmu sees to it to make an effort to understand Yuyuko. However, the roundabout way in which she exposes her wisdom is ever so tricky to process for Youmu and, despite her best efforts, she never seems to see her mistress' point as quickly as she would have wanted. "I remember that, but I thought that was because Reimu was expected to solve it. Since she was actually missing, I assumed I was sent out as a replacement of sorts. Was that actually not the case?"

At the seemingly innocent question, Yuyuko elegantly chuckles. "You were never meant to replace anyone, Youmu," Yuyuko states, "You had a very important role. After all, the true center is the report, not the incident. If I remember it right, you didn't just go into the mountain to investigate, did you?"

"Of course not," Youmu assertively responds, feeling some pride in the practical effort she had exercised that day. "While I did ask around the people of the mountain, I also questioned other youkai near the mountain and on it and found myself at the Moriya Shrine to speak about the incident. I did all I could to get an intricate report of what had transpired on the mountain, or anything else related to it."

Yuyuko's smile widens in amusement. "And you performed very well, rest assured. At the time, you, too, found it strange that Reimu hadn't been the one to solve the incident, right? Then, if you think about it, everyone you ended up talking to would've found this just as strange, especially if you also told them you were sent out by Yukari's shikigami. The other youkai that you spoke to were just as perplexed as you, and word of mouth spread the very question you were posing... In essence, you were watering the planted seed."

"Ah," Youmu suddenly utters in realization. "Now that you mention it, the Oni did say something about hearing rumors."

"Which is because everything went splendidly for Yukari," Yuyuko cheerfully adds almost as though that would conclude any and all doubts, but Youmu remains just as confused after hearing it. "We should be glad for that. After all, there will be a feast at the shrine over this. Feasts like this unify people, did you know that? Youkai, too, are no different."

"I see..." Youmu absent-mindedly mutters, distracted with other matters. Despite Yuyuko's words, nothing had truly been specified for Youmu, and she knows this is on purpose; that she is supposed to connect the dots herself. However, what exactly is so important about rumors that they prevail over the mountain incident? More importantly, what sort of plan did Yukari even have in mind to begin with if it's to greatly involve something as vague as rumors?

For a while, Youmu figures, she will have to sort out what Yuyuko has laid out for her...

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

While Seiga Kaku wandered about, a certain piece of news had reached her ears: it seems that Reimu Hakurei has been found and retrieved. Similarly, she figured, Miko's investigation must have ended, and all chaos must have died down along with it. As such, Seiga decided to head for the Mausoleum in order to speak with Miko, merely out of curiosity. It simply would've been a shame if someone like Reimu were to disappear, and now that she has been found, she can only wonder what sort of force had caused her to go missing to begin with. When it comes to Miko, Seiga knows she has gathered solid results.

With this in mind, without any sort of care or hesitation, a hole is being formed in the wall between a hallway and the room Miko is presently in, only for Seiga to hear Miko say, "If you're going to appear, at least enter through the door, Seiga." As expected of the Crown Prince; her ears are sharp. With a low, soft chuckle, Seiga gives up on her hole, fixing it, and heads for the door.

"Just for you, Lady Toyosatomimi," Seiga playfully says while opening the door, knowing Miko would have also heard that. "Well then, do excuse me." Seiga bows ever so slightly with a sly smile on her face, one Miko could not help but frown upon. "Judging by what I've heard, I suppose my report was helpful?"

"Yes, your eavesdropping did serve me well, for once," Miko replied before crossing her arms. "And I assume you came to hear about the origin behind Reimu's disappearance?"

"It's only natural that I want information in exchange for information." Seiga shrugs in a carefree fashion. "So, in the end, what was behind Reimu's disappearance?"

For a moment, Miko remains silent, thoughtful. Then, she sighs. "I don't know yet," Miko plainly and calmly responds, though in a clearly more unmotivated fashion than usual.

"Oh my," Seiga utters in genuine, albeit faint surprise and curiosity. Her chin rests on her fisted right hand as she ponders. "What sort of formidable mastermind could ever outsmart you? Now this is unexpected."

"I simply have no further leads," Miko says while grimacing. "The perpetrator did a remarkable job of pointing me in the wrong direction, and I have yet to gather evidence indicative of the truth."

"How sinister indeed," Seiga remarks, though she shows no signs of being truly distraught. Rather, her amused smile remains in place. "Well, even if you don't know the true mastermind, I would like to hear more about your investigation, if you would."

Miko narrows her eyes, reminiscing. "After thoroughly inspecting the Hakurei Shrine, I found traces of sleeping powder in Reimu's tea storage. However, the way it had been left there seemed too obvious and deliberate: a small bag of it lay right before your eyes the moment you enter the room, almost as if the culprit meant to let you know of it; needless to say it garnered suspicion. When I interrogated the three fairies, who confessed to attempting to play a prank on Reimu, they claimed they were given a powder capable of turning someone's tongue blue."

"Then, would that individual who gave them the powder not be the mastermind?" Seiga plainly questions. "It seems quite straightforward to me."

Miko slowly shakes her head. "Your way of thinking is too simple-minded. To begin with, the fairies claimed to have happened upon a bag with the powder by their residence; they never saw the perpetrator. Furthermore, they said the bag was of a different color than the one with sleeping powder found at the shrine."

Seiga smirks. "Now it just seems like they're provoking you," she remarks, thoroughly amused. It's not every day someone poses a challenge so bold to Miko, and it certainly is not every day she sees Miko struggling to overcome it.

At Seiga's words, Miko can't help but wryly smile, sourly so. "And they've done well at it, as you can notice. Even I have no choice but to admire the way the perpetrator has so impeccably driven me to a wall. I honestly would love to meet this mastermind for myself at least once in my life, as I'd likely have much to learn from them." Miko then casually shrugs, as if that could somehow dismiss her self-disappointment in regards to her failure. "For now, I can only conclude that the sleeping powder ordeal itself was a red herring. The fairies tested the powder they had received before applying it to their prank, confirming that they had not received sleeping powder or placed it themselves. Rather, when they placed their own powder, someone switched it for sleeping powder. Logically, one would assume this was responsible for Reimu's collapse and disappearance, but evidence actually debunks the hypothesis."

"How so?" Seiga asks, exceedingly curious.

"I retrieved the bag with sleeping powder from the shrine and scrutinized it myself," Miko responds, "Not only is the powder meant to take little time to affect the body, but its effects are also remarkably weak; it would require a very high dosage of it to put someone asleep for hours on end. Most of all, however, if put into tea, you can clearly notice the difference in flavor. Though further proof after the analysis wasn't necessary, Futo volunteered to test the effects of this powder directly by slipping an unnoticeable amount into her own tea, and immediately pointed out the flavor before falling asleep in no more than five minutes. After half an hour, she awoke without issue."

Seiga frowns as she finds herself genuinely invested in solving this mystery, now truly deep in thought about the matter. "That does contradict everything that Reimu experienced, according to the Tengu newspaper I read. Was she not deeply asleep for the entire day? Otherwise, she would not have gone missing."

"It's as you said: Reimu was asleep for the entire day. Furthermore, Reimu was found in the Forest of Magic, far away from the shrine," Miko elaborates, "This implies that Reimu only fell asleep while on her way to the mountain, which was after the entire early morning."

"And she would've naturally noticed the different flavor if she drank the tea, right?"

"Exactly," Miko assertively responds. "A testimony from someone residing in the shrine who saw Reimu before her disappearance describes Reimu as uncharacteristically drowsy, but nothing was ever stated about the tea itself. She hadn't even considered the tea at all while she was speaking. If we compare all facts with the sleeping powder placed in the shrine, it simply isn't conceivable that Reimu drank tea mixed in with this sleeping powder, no matter how we see this case. As such, we can only conclude Reimu drank normal tea, and was forced into sleep through an alternate method."

Seiga pensively hums in a manner far too dramatic for one to think she would truly be giving Miko's words any actual consideration, but she is still, in fact, looking to get to the bottom of the issue. "Is there no way the powder the fairies received have a different effect on humans? It might have turned their tongues blue when they tested it, but the same can't be said for a different species."

"I considered something similar and retrieved the remaining powder the fairies possessed to analyze it," Miko answers faster than Seiga had expected, almost as if she had expected her question and prepared the response beforehand. "Nothing about it seemed to be able to put someone to sleep. It's wiser to assume there was no powder responsible for Reimu's disappearance to begin with, and that the whole scheme was merely meant to distract us from the perpetrator's true method."

"But, in the end, it wasn't necessary at all," Seiga says, "After all, this distraction wouldn't have erased the evidence of this true method, whatever it may have been. If it's already a method so strange and difficult to grasp that us hermits can barely fathom what it could be, it didn't need to be covered up by something as easy to debunk as this." Seiga deviously smiles, unable to contain the wry nature of her thoughts. "In other words, the perpetrator was just toying with us, knowing we would never discover their identity to begin with." Seiga momentarily feigns fear and distress with a frantic shake of her head and a far too lighthearted startled expression. "My, my, how ominous!"

Reminding herself of her complete failure in solving Reimu's disappearance, especially due to the way Seiga phrased the nature of what the culprit laid out before her, Miko grimaces once more, showcasing only some of her actual frustration. For the sake of both herself and Seiga, Miko deliberately refrains from directly responding to her theatrical remark. "Moreover, Reimu's disappearance in and of itself has no clear motive."

"Maybe it was a prank," Seiga suggests, "but planned out by someone much smarter than a fairy."

Though she would have at first denied the proposition thinking that this incident was most likely orchestrated with some higher purpose in mind, now that she had been subjected to this degree of humiliation by the very perpetrator, Miko cannot help but nod. "Perhaps it was," Miko simply responds, surprising even Seiga, who hadn't truly believed Miko would consider a suggestion so simple. "At this point, I can expect anything out of the perpetrator. Regardless, even if the odds are against me, I'll continue to work on this case with the help of a fellow hermit for the time being. As much as it may be unnecessary now that Reimu is safe at the shrine, I want to keep pursuing this case for personal reasons and get ahold of the truth behind Reimu's disappearance." Miko then smirks for once in the conversation, genuinely amused. "Admittedly, I am rather curious about who exactly this perpetrator is."

"Dazzled, are we? Well, so am I, so do tell me about everything you find afterwards; you owe me, after all. Now, as interesting as this conversation has been, I don't think there's much more I can take out of it, and I surely wouldn't want to get in your way any further, so I'll take my leave for now." Seemingly satisfied, Seiga bows and turns around with a smile on her face. "Farewell; I'll stop by at another time. Don't go missing me now!" she teases, though she knows more than well that this has no effect on Miko, who is used to her personality. Regardless, as she exits the room, she finds herself pondering on the mastermind.

Similarly, Miko, too, ends up thinking of the culprit behind Reimu's sudden collapse in her current solitude. Truly, only someone formidable could have orchestrated this entire case, but for what purpose? How had they done it? No matter how much her prodigious mind reiterates all of her gathered facts, Miko cannot reach a solid conclusion. Her smirk becomes but a wry smile originated from growing feelings of resignation. Truly, she has been bested. She has been in such a way toyed with, in fact, that it continues to generate disbelief within Miko and, furthermore, a sense of dread that forces her naturally assertive nature to simmer in light of a more cautious thought process.

Miko can only bitterly chuckle at her complete defeat, even if the war, in her eyes, is not finished yet. If this culprit is a youkai, Miko amusedly notes, they have certainly been able to fulfill their innate purpose in life, as they managed to unsettle even her.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Though the tension had been almost palpable in the Human Village before, now, after four days, the people seem to have come to terms with the mountain's appearance and see it as but an additional piece of scenery, provided the new youkai will not trouble them. However, the dangers of youkai were a concern of the humans even without the mountain, so this is not a factor that remains with them now. Besides, rather than the mountain or even the flying tools, the most unsettling event to occur was that parade of youkai in the sky, which even now some villagers would remark on.

As she takes extra care in hearing these remaining voices of amazement and dread, Mamizou can't contain her smirk. Walking about the village in a human form, Mamizou has finally been able to relish in at least the marvelous work she had done in unsettling the general human populace, compensating somewhat from the crushing defeat she suffered at the hands of Marisa's own search party. As much as she tried not to remember it, it surfaces once more, and now she can't contain a grimace. _And there I had myself thinking I'd gotten all nuisances right out of the way with that search party idea. Well, it had to end at some point with how showy we were being,_ Mamizou thinks as she surveys the area for any conversations, all the while she watches out for a certain building. _It's more shocking that shrine maiden didn't wake up just to shut our mouths, but we can't have everything working out in our favor now, can we? Nobody can get two birds with one stone all the time._

Mamizou's train of thought stops when she spots Suzunaan, her main goal for the day. The book-renting shop rests along with the various ominous presences any youkai could easily sense oozing off of the many books Kosuzu has been collecting. Mamizou, too, knows of these youkai-made books, and has developed a great interest in them. However, not all plans can be led to fruition in a day, and Mamizou likes thinking she is a rather patient Tanuki; she will attain her results when the time is right, surely.

Though Mamizou can't quite tell if the shop is currently open, she does not particularly care as she heads for the entrance. Seeing as the doors are open, Mamizou simply helps herself to entering the building, immediately coming upon a focused Kosuzu, sat on a chair reading. "Mornin' there," Mamizou greets so as to get her attention, and succeeds to great effect as Kosuzu flinches, startled; she hadn't expected customers this early in the morning.

"Oh!" When she looks up and sees Mamizou, she reflexively smiles. "Good morning!" She sets the book down on the table serving as the counter and stands up. "Is there anything you need from me? If so, I'd be happy to provide!" Kosuzu says with genuine cheer and brightness, things Mamizou is not exactly associating with her own mood. However, after finally getting a good look at Mamizou, Kosuzu gives her a look of pure concern and slight unease. "Um... Are you okay?"

Currently, Mamizou is bandaged in various parts of her body, though Kosuzu could only spot a few as the rest is covered up in her dense clothing. Mamizou waves her hand in dismissal, ignoring the pain in her wrist. "Just had a little tumble on the way back home," Mamizou lightly responds, "Nothing you need to worry yourself about, that's for sure." _At least I ended up getting back at them for it,_ Mamizou thinks, hoping that would bring her away from any negativity. However, her mind does not truly obey. _Well, except for the Oni, that is. And yeesh, did the hermit really need to burn my tail?_ Mamizou focuses on Kosuzu once again with an ever so slightly curious expression. "Anyway, I'd be more worried about myself than some lady visitor in your shoes. It's been rowdy lately, and I'm sure even you've heard of Reimu going missing."

Naturally, this is a lie, as the Human Village stands as one of the few locations unaware of Reimu's disappearance. Kosuzu's eyes widen in shock. "Wait, what?! Ms. Reimu is missing?!" she exclaims, incredulous at this piece of information. "I didn't know of this at all!"

"Well, she's been found already, so it's not like she's still missing," Mamizou says as if this could actually reassure her, albeit that is not truly her intention to begin with.

Regardless, Kosuzu breathes out in relief. "Thank goodness..."

"But the whole time she was gone, everyone was fretting over it," Mamizou adds, paying no mind to Kosuzu's interjection. "I'm surprised you didn't hear."

Kosuzu frowns, disappointed in herself. "I really didn't," she insists, "I never even thought that could happen to someone like her. Do you know anything more about it?"

Mamizou absent-mindedly looks to the side as if pensive, but gives almost no thought at all to the question as she had been expecting it from the very beginning. "Well, I'm not too big on all the teensy details, but she was apparently found passed out in the Forest of Magic. Scary, right?"

"No kidding..." Kosuzu mutters, somewhat distraught. Reimu is supposed to be strong, and yet she suddenly goes missing? The notion admittedly brought her considerable discomfort, especially as she is supposed to be the shrine maiden in charge of protecting Gensokyo.

"Not to mention all those youkai in the sky," Mamizou says, turning the conversation precisely to the topic she had been hoping for. "When I saw them, I got so startled I was tumbling down the path before I knew it!"

"Ah, you mean that mound of youkai flying around four days ago?" Kosuzu questions. "I was really surprised, too! I mean, I didn't fall down or anything..." Kosuzu awkwardly glances to the side, realizing the lack of tact far too late. "But it did put me nervous. A lot of people were going to the Myouren Temple over the mountain, but the moment that was on the sky, they all seemed to come right back. I suppose they wouldn't want to stay in a temple with youkai with something like that happening."

Mamizou nods in pure pride, unable to resist the urge to do so. "Right? It was some rampage, in my eyes. It looked like the youkai were just doing whatever they wanted while the shrine maiden was gone."

"Oh, so Ms. Reimu went missing four days ago?" Unnerved, Kosuzu frowns. "That's also the day the mountain showed up..."

Mamizou's smile only widens, especially as she finds herself recalling previous events. "It sure was. A lot happened that day, didn't it? But just when you'd think a mountain doesn't compare to a youkai parade, the spotlight goes right onto the youkai. I didn't even think about the mountain back then with all the news about the missing shrine maiden piling up with the parade."

"Now that I look back at it, I didn't have much time to think about the mountain either," Kosuzu says, pensive. Tired of standing, Kosuzu takes to sitting down again. "It was a big deal the first time I saw it, but since nothing really happened until the whole youkai mound showed up, I barely focused on it. Were those youkai from that mountain?"

"With the way everybody left the temple when it started getting showy, I wouldn't think so," Mamizou responds, "If anything, it was because some of them were from the temple that the villagers went away. I was there at the time, so I got a little glimpse."

"Well, I guess that makes sense. For a bunch of youkai that summoned a mountain all the way over here, they sure are keeping quiet," Kosuzu comments, curious about why this would be. "But why were the youkai from here doing something like this, then? Was it because of Ms. Reimu, or the mountain?"

 _There_ is the million dollar question, Mamizou triumphantly notes; truly, patience is a virtue. "As far as I know, all sorts of places ended up in Gensokyo, but it's the first time the shrine maiden goes missing. Like I said, the youkai were probably taking advantage of it." _That does add up,_ Kosuzu thinks while nodding. However, Mamizou's gaze suddenly becomes sharp and something akin to a smirk adorns her ever so slightly battered features. "But then again, it might've been the other way around."

"The other way around?" Kosuzu questions, now fully confused.

"Maybe all the youkai gathered together and went wild because they thought the shrine maiden would show up that way. After all, she wouldn't miss something that suspicious," Mamizou deviously responds, not even trying to hold back on her ominous presence. Fortunately for her, Kosuzu's admiration for her is such that she can let such moments slip by.

Surprised, Kosuzu attempts to give thought to what Mamizou has told her, figuring she was being told something like this precisely so she can think it through herself. Kosuzu frowns. "It's an interesting suggestion, but why would the youkai want Ms. Reimu back?"

"Because maybe some like being fussed over by a violent shrine maiden," Mamizou lightly responds, "who knows? Youkai are all shades of strange. It might've even been for both reasons: a party and an incident at the same time. I sure wouldn't put it past them." Mamizou had been expecting Kosuzu's ignorance, though even Mamizou had a time she didn't particularly know of the weight behind the Hakurei Shrine Maiden title. Still, she finds amusement in how Kosuzu has no clue of the inner workings of Gensokyo, and decides it may as well be kept that way; ignorance is bliss. Besides, Mamizou didn't lie in her response. In essence, those were the main reasons behind her plan. "Anyway, I came over here because I was worried about you, but you seem just fine to me. I guess I was worrying over nothing at all. Well, I also found a book or two you might just be interested in, but..." Mamizou deliberately pauses while reaching out for what she had been keeping underneath some of her layers, expectant of Kosuzu's reaction.

Brimming with excitement, Kosuzu practically jumps from the chair and stares straight at Mamizou. "Really?! Thank you, thank you! You didn't need to go that far for me!" she cheerfully exclaims.

Mamizou shakes her head ever so slightly, ignoring the pain in her neck. "Oh, this much is nothing. Besides, someone like you'd put more care into them than I ever would. I mean..." Naturally, the two books she has were readied by Mamizou as an excuse to come into the shop with some form of business, and their worth is definitely not as high as the many other books Mamizou has set her eyes on in the establishment. Regardless, even despite the way it ended, the parade was at least a good way to let loose, Mamizou reasons. After all, the tensions on the day the mountain appeared were more than worrying. While Mamizou herself isn't one to see all youkai as friends, even she knew better than to needlessly spread the fire. Rather, she sought to splash water.

And what a better way to release tensions than a good old fashioned party? In the situation Gensokyo was at the time, Reimu's disappearance seemed almost like a God-Send to Mamizou, as it opened up so many opportunities for the youkai. Rumors spread among the youkai; the event rattled them; and, in turn, the youkai rattled the humans, just as things should be. As Mamizou vacantly brings her conversation with Kosuzu to a conclusion, no longer seeing any more purpose to it, she smiles one last time in Suzunaan before waving at Kosuzu in a friendly manner. "I'll see you around!"

Faintly, she hears Kosuzu shout, "Goodbye!" Despite this, it enters one ear and leaves through the other as Mamizou puts something rather crucial into consideration, something she had not truly pondered on while still hurt from Marisa's search party and preparing for her visit to Suzunaan. She could almost laugh at how a matter so important slipped her mind, even if she had lightly questioned herself on it a few times before. Now, it comes back to her in full force:

 _Why_ and _how_ had Reimu gone missing to begin with? Tengu newspapers claimed that she was found on the Forest of Magic, and despite the initial excuse of gathering youkai to find Reimu, no one in the parade was truly looking for her, so she didn't find it too strange that she was actually there. What instead bothered her was the fact that she was passed out to begin with, supposedly put to sleep. Clearly, there is a perpetrator, even if no one truly knows their identity. _I'd have to be an idiot to think it was a coincidence._ Furthermore, Reimu went missing on the day the mountain appeared. _Anybody would normally assume it was to incriminate the people of the mountain, but... That might've just been exactly what they wanted everybody to think._

 _Really, what if it's the other way around all along? It's just a theory for now, but if by any chance somebody had temporarily offed Reimu to get everybody's eyes away from the mountain, knowing this is the sort of thing that was going to happen..._ As if she had no other choice but to do so, Mamizou smiles, slight disbelief evident along with it.

It seems as though Mamizou may have been but a single pawn dancing on someone's palm; the realization further sinks in on her. "Heh..." _We'd all be dealing with one scary youkai, that's for sure! Gives me the creeps just imagining what kind of youkai it'd be to think up something like that!_ "Heh heh heh..." _My imagination could definitely use an off-switch, if I do say so myself!_

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

The Forest of Magic, humid, dark and dangerous, does not exactly constitute as the kind of location Futo is most fond of. In fact, she scarcely would like to come to such a location again. Unfortunately, it was on the outskirts of this forest that Reimu was found, rendering her with no other choice.

Ultimately, she figured, she may be able to find clues that would aid her Crown Prince in her investigation. As such, Futo now stands before the area Marisa had supposedly retrieved Reimu from, marvelling at how much brighter it is in comparison to the rest of the forest. Due to the streak of battles she involved herself with four days ago, Futo sustained a quantity of minor injuries too high to go exploring, much like the rest of the party facing myriads of youkai. Futo in particular has a black eye from the Tanuki she had faced off with, figuring immediately she was the boss of the parade from Marisa's words. Though she did end up winning against her, it was a close battle, or so Futo reminisces.

Upon closer inspection, someone else is in the area. Furthermore, this figure is more than familiar to her. "Lady Alice?" Futo questions as she approaches, greatly curious. "'Tis quite the coincidence!"

Slightly surprised, Alice looks up at Futo, seemingly disturbed. "Oh, hello there," Alice greets, still unsure of how to perceive this meeting. Regardless, she politely smiles. "Futo, right? Are you here to search for clues?"

Futo confidently nods. "An astute guess! Naturally, I'm here to aid the Crown Prince in her investigation."

Alice's smile grows into a smirk. "Though you definitely should be home resting, instead. Surely you've looked yourself through already." Alice rests a hand on her hip, looking down at what she perceives to be Futo's recklessness.

Meanwhile, Futo scratches her head in a sheepish manner, wearing an apprehensive smile on her face. "I scarcely see the need for concern," Futo counters, "After all, nothing I'm doing is particularly straining. I appreciate thy worries, but feel free to refrain from them as I'm perfectly fine!" Futo then smirks and puffs up her chest in pride. "In fact, I couldn't possibly be better! And even if I happened to be gravely wounded, which I am not, I would never waste the chance to aid the Crown Prince."

Vacantly, Alice frowns. "Is that so? Well, unfortunately for you and that energy of yours, I'm already finished looking through the area." She sighs. "As expected, there was nothing in particular over here. It looks like Reimu just happened to pass out here by accident."

Futo's smile vanishes, and her stance becomes considerably serious as she finds herself thinking about the case of Reimu's disappearance. "Impliest thou that the mastermind hath no intentional location to leave Lady Reimu in?" Futo questions, admittedly skeptical.

"A place like this one does seem rather random to me," Alice responds while glancing about. "There no traces of magic that shouldn't be here or anything of the sort, so it's safe to assume whoever was behind this didn't really care about where Reimu would pass out."

Futo narrows her eyes. "Is not that bizarre, however? A miscreant intent on causing the disappearance of Lady Reimu would surely possess a plan more elaborate than this." The more she thinks about it, the deeper her frown becomes: for a case as sinister as the disappearance of Reimu, all details found were as random as can be, almost as if that were of no importance. "That is, if causing her disappearance was their plan to begin with."

"Which it may just not be, from the way this whole case has been laid out," Alice says, crossing her arms in mild displeasure. "Rather, I can't help but feel it ties to the mountain, somehow."

"The mountain, huh... 'Twould certainly not be out of the question." Futo tilts her head to the side ever so slightly, without even noticing it. "Though the Crown Prince concluded the mountain's youkai have no direct involvement, there may still be an indirect tie to its appearance."

"It'd just be stranger if there weren't," Alice insists, grimacing. "But, if anyone wanted to incriminate the people of the mountain with Reimu's disappearance, wouldn't they do a better job out of it than this?"

"Indeed. 'Tis far too odd that the mastermind created not a single piece of false evidence to solidify the mountain's connection with Lady Reimu's condition, or any such tactics. If conflict is their aim, wherefore would not they fan the fire of suspicion the mountain's way?" As she further tilts to the side, pensively humming, Futo ends up wincing in pain from her back and immediately straightens herself, ever so slightly startled at the sudden event, noting that she had been that deep in thought. In the midst of her shock, however, something emerges in her thoughts; Futo's eyes widen. " _Unless...!_ " It dawns on Futo, and her Crown Prince immediately flashes to mind: is Miko aware of what she has just discovered?

"Unless what? Don't just shout all of a sudden," Alice reprimands despite her growing curiosity regarding Futo's sudden actions. Even so, for now, Alice does not want to appear overly interested, just in case.

"Say the mastermind's goal lies not on Lady Reimu's disappearance or the mountain," Futo agitatedly explains, as if in a hurry, "but on something by which these two can serve as distractions: is not Lady Reimu's disappearance a perfect decoy...?!"

"A decoy?" Alice questions, skeptical. "You mean that the culprit used the mountain and even Reimu as distractions? She's the Hakurei Shrine Maiden."

"That I know as well, but considering they've caused her disappearance to begin with, this scoundrel likely hath not any scruples," Futo ominously states, scowling in pure frustration. "They must've simply wanted a distraction and staged this farce in order to hide their true purposes, and now the Crown Prince has been led astray by a mere decoy...! Oh, _this,_ I shan't forgive!"

"Wait, calm down, Futo," Alice utters, figuring that Futo may just leave before telling her crucial, solid information. "Just what exactly do you think is going on?"

"Thou art ill-informed, but I've joined with the Crown Prince's investigation and know of the finer details pertaining the case. The entirety of the evidence found was left there on purpose, as if to incite the Crown Prince; this is no coincidence. The mastermind clearly intended to fool us, but I hadn't thought to assume these were only a means to prolong the true decoy's effect even after Lady Reimu's retrieval." Futo casts her eyes to the ground. "I was naive; I'd only falsely assumed that evidence itself was the decoy. As the false evidence is a distraction from the purpose of Lady Reimu's disappearance, Lady Reimu's disappearance itself is but another distraction. Considering this coincides with the mountain's appearance..."

Completely perplexed, Alice raises her eyebrows and grimaces Futo's way. "What, are you saying that Reimu going missing is just a decoy meant to divert our eyes from the mountain? That can't possibly be true. What sense would it make?"

"I'm not yet sure of that, but Lady Reimu's disappearance must be a distraction. Its clear lack of a motive only dictates so," Futo states, exasperated at the thought of having been tricked by any particularly vile youkai. Finally, she looks up at Alice again, seemingly resolute. "In any case, though the Crown Prince probably concluded this herself, I can't help but worry regardless. Rather than waste my time on this location, I'll return to her at once."

At first, Alice glares at Futo, frowning upon her actions. However, she then shrugs, unmotivated. "If you think a theory like that will somehow help her, suit yourself. I've finished my business here, so I'll leave as well."

"Be it as it may, I wouldn't want to take any risks when it comes to the Crown Prince," Futo asserts, even now bitterly thinking of the mastermind who was so daringly distracting her Crown Prince. Even despite this, for Alice's sake, Futo manages a friendly smile, wanting to leave a pleasant last impression. "This is farewell for now. If there comes a time for thee to show interest in religion, thou art more than welcome to join the way of Tao. My religion refuseth not even youkai."

"That's great and all, but I'll pass on that offer," Alice immediately responds, now more than willing to leave. "I suppose I'll see you around, then." Roundabout as it was, Alice uttered her goodbyes in a neutral fashion before waving at Futo in an equally impersonal manner as she turns around and steps away.

"Farewell, Lady Alice!" Meanwhile, Futo's parting words are more energetic in general, as Futo begins to float in the air. "In the event thy mind changes, our Dojo shall always welcome thee!" she shouts in a particularly loud voice to make sure Alice heard her, but Alice provides her with no visual or verbal response. Futo pensively frowns. "Was mine approach too bold, I wonder..."

However, at the resurfacing notion of the nature of Reimu's disappearance, Futo's recovering mood deteriorates into her previous resentful, exasperated one. Miko is currently investigating why Reimu had gone missing; a pointless effort. Naturally, since Miko had been the one to decide on it, Futo respected the decision, but, regardless, especially as she recalls Miko in low spirits, Futo feels the need to tell her. Perhaps then, Miko may be able to complete her theory and regain the tiniest radiance she had ever so slightly lost from the vile youkai's misleading schemes; Futo would not put it past her Crown Prince. For now, however, she could not help but wryly note on the prowess of the mastermind's scheme, originated only by a few simplistic moves.

Whatever their true objectives may be, Futo knows she must at least guarantee Miko's superiority over the mastermind, and make them realize the Crown Prince is no fool who they can toy with.

Though, she hurriedly adds in her mind, it isn't like the Crown Prince could not overcome this by herself.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

"... And that's basically it from me," Suika casually says before drinking directly from her gourd. Nodding along, Aya writes something on her notebook that Suika hardly has any curiosity over. She already knows it's a summary of the youkai parade she stopped. "Been busy lately, haven't ya?"

Aya looks up at Suika with a small smile on her face. "Oh, this much is only natural for a reporter, rest assured. If anything, you've put yourself in a much more dangerous situation than I have with this youkai parade incident," Aya politely responds, facing the short, horned figure leaning on a tree with slight caution. Though Aya herself is a prideful Tengu, she stands before an Oni, one of the former rulers of the mountain, and she hardly wishes to be on her bad side. Conversely, the pleasantries are hardly Suika's preferred pastime, so she isn't particularly pleased with Aya's answer. "Though, I suppose one such as yourself would find that a thrilling challenge of sorts."

"If it were actually challenging," Suika retorts, frowning as she reminisces. "A lot of them just ran the moment they saw me swinging my fists around; bunch of cowards."

Amused, Aya's smile widens. "Well, I certainly wouldn't blame them," she lightly remarks.

Suika then crosses her arms and pouts, seemingly peeved. "And then there's still no way to get the party started in the shrine when it's been four days," Suika complains as if she hadn't heard Aya at all, only to groan in moderate exasperation. "What a huge mood-killer. If she was gonna do something to Reimu, she could've at least made it so she'd be okay the next day." Suika absent-mindedly looks towards the sky, not exactly aware of what she has even said anymore.

Meanwhile, Aya shows herself surprised. "'She'?"

Suika grimaces. "Not worth talking about," Suika dismissively counters, shooting down any chance for Aya to ask for an explanation. Had someone much weaker been acting this way, Aya would have pressed on, but, unfortunately, this happens to be Suika, who she would not like to deal with in such a manner. "I've read your article about Reimu going missing, by the way. Seriously, 'The Hakurei Shrine Maiden Disappearance Conspiracy'?"

"Sinister, isn't it? It appears none of the evidence in the scene coincides with the way she went missing, and the culprit has yet to reveal themself to the public. The motive is unknown to the point where you could question yourself if there was even a motive to begin with," Aya ominously elaborates, almost as if to dramatize the ordeal, "And, most of all, it occurs precisely on the same day that mountain appears. Anyone can bring their theories to the table in regards to a case like this. Is this not a conspiracy of its own?"

"Just looked like an exaggeration to me," Suika casually responds with a shrug, contrasting immensely with Aya's previous words. "But then again, everyone's been reading it, so I bet you're proud of this one." Suika faintly smiles. "I saw even that mountain's people getting their hands on it, after all. Guess your shady ways do work out for you somehow."

"Shady? It's only the truth," Aya proudly states, "Besides, with an incident this intriguing, it's only natural that more people than usual are reading the newspaper: they've heard the rumors, and want to know more; they want to know more, and my article swiftly provides." Aya chuckles. "Truly, this season has been keeping me busy in the best of possible ways. The flying tools, the mountain, the shrine maiden, and now the parade... Maybe by the time that party of yours finally starts, you'll be seeing that article around, too. Though, I seriously doubt it will have as much popularity as the shrine maiden's disappearance."

"Even now, that's the only thing the youkai are going on and on about," Suika adds as she crosses her arm behind her head, resting it on them. "Never mind the time everyone was focusing on the mountain showing up all of a sudden. Welp, gossip's the same no matter what you are; fickle as always."

"I, for one, am glad for it in this case," Aya says as she stores her notebook, noting she will likely no longer need it for the conversation she is currently having with Suika. "You cannot possibly imagine how we Tengu were reacting to that mountain at the time; it was a rather troublesome tension for us, as you can understand. With the shrine maiden's disappearance cutting into everyone's minds, things are much more lax now. Regardless, if you had to point at any youkai still talking about that mountain, it would be a Tengu. I suppose we just can't help it."

"Heh, I bet it scared ya good, having another mountain tower in," Suika amusedly remarks, more to herself than to Aya. "You're lucky they're all a bunch of wimps."

Aya chuckles. "Rather, they're lucky they happen to be so inconsequential to the youkai," she sharply retorts, treating the exceedingly serious conversation topic as if it were but a joke, a mildly intriguing occurrence. Suika, too, is treating this lightly, but she is a unique existence in the panorama of the youkai. Aya, however, has a very clear view into the hierarchies and struggles between the species while Suika has long but abandoned them. With this in mind, Aya narrows her eyes thinking of these implications. "If they know what's good for them, they're likely to stay as quiet as they've been so far."

"That right?" Suika questions. "I dunno about you, but I'd at least wanna see them joining up for the party and getting rowdy there." Suika then smirks, almost as if holding back the urge to snicker (though, if she had, she would've snickered right away as she has no such thing as reservations). "Maybe they'll actually try to have a drinking competition with me, unlike you all."

Meanwhile, Aya herself fails to resist the urge to laugh yet again. "Oh my, I can already feel for them..."

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

The Myouren Temple had gone through a time of great uproar, but now, four days later, the members of the temple can hardly believe it ever occurred to begin with in light of the general peace that has now settled. While that naturally pleased Byakuren, Nue, somewhat battered, is not as satisfied. Laid down on the outskirts of the Myouren Temple watching visitors go up and down the stairs, Nue feels it absolutely appropriate to claim that she is in such a way bored she may as well die.

She faintly groans before shifting her position ever so slightly. However, finding that it pained her bruised right elbow, she shifts yet again. Noting her more than unfortunate situation, Nue lets out a long and loud sigh. "That Oni sure did a number on me..." Nue bitterly mutters, unwilling to even recall it. "Of all people, I didn't expect an Oni to want to stop the parade..." Today, and for the past days, Nue has sighted no human visitors to the temple, and she finds herself always inwardly remarking on this as she observes the area; it's one of the few things that cheer her up about the situation. _In the end, the humans ended up so frightened of that parade they aren't even coming here. What's more, they don't even know what caused it; its origins remain unknown!_ At least in that, Nue has succeeded: she had managed to plant into the humans of the village a great fear of something they cannot even comprehend the origin of. _Even if we didn't find the shrine maiden, it was at least fun while it lasted. Though, now that I think about it..._

Nue rolls to the side in order to grasp a nearby newspaper. She reads the title aloud: "'The Hakurei Shrine Maiden Disappearance Conspiracy'..." Nue had only found the newspaper lying on the ground by sheer coincidence, but the article itself is especially intriguing to her. Nue snickers. "Who did it, indeed..." _Our parade was nothing in comparison to this. This case is practically a work of art._ When she had first heard about Reimu's disappearance, she hadn't given thought to the details behind it; she figured they didn't matter. To Nue, the event was supposed to only be the trigger to her own plans, along with Mamizou's. However, after reading the article and being filled in on the context of incident, Nue had cursed herself for that attitude as she had almost remained ignorant to one of the most interesting incidents she had ever witnessed. _The shrine maiden found eerily without a hassle, the mismatching sleeping powder, the fake culprits, the victim's mysterious slumber... All of it is just perfect._ Nue can only longingly sigh thinking about it. "Oh, if only I'd come up with something so utterly sinister, so utterly impossible to grasp...!" Nue raises the newspaper high, only to wince from the speed she'd done so, as her right arm was not yet fully healed. "Just what kind of youkai can be this brilliant...?"

Nue only wished she'd know that, but, naturally, said brilliant youkai had left no traces of their identity while setting up Reimu's disappearance, which is what was so flawless to Nue in the first place. _That feeling of dread settling in ignorant minds who fail to uncover that which is indefinable; it's so greatly encapsulated here. If this had spread to the humans, it would've been even more of a masterpiece._ However, to her surprise, it seems as though only youkai are truly aware of this incident, as the humans focused on the youkai parade. _And while I'd be more than happy to help a case this great reach the humans, I also wouldn't want them to stop talking about the parade just yet._ Nue smirks as she skims through a few paragraphs of the article, if only to rekindle that feeling of wonder she had experienced for the very first time; it isn't like Nue has much more to do anyway. _Well, maybe I'll manage something when that starts simmering down..._

Chuckling to herself, Nue sets down the newspaper beside her and takes to watching the temple stairs and entrance again, her mood recovered... For now. While she does so, she sets her eyes on a few oddities lurking in the temple lately.

Clearly, they are not human. However, their presence is unlike that of a youkai. They don't exude mystery or malice, not even a trace of fear. In fact, much to Nue's confusion, these creatures let out a spiritual presence more reminiscent of goodwill and clarity. Though Byakuren seems to welcome their presence, Nue does not see them as fondly. They are unlike youkai, fundamentally different from the essence of human fear that all youkai consist of.

Regardless, if they are not human, but not youkai, what are they? Gods without need for faith? Animals with human intellect and magical abilities?

... An unknown?

"Hah..." Ultimately, Nue ends up unable to fully resent them despite their opposing nature. At least, for now. Amused, Nue intently stares at one of them: the article encouraged theories about the heart of Reimu's disappearance, and suspicions apparently pointed to the mountain's people. However, Nue knows better than to see a tiny, frog-like creature like the one she is currently staring at as capable of a scheme so inherently ominous. The more she continues staring, feeling the seconds pass, the more boredom begins to settle in on her.

Similarly to what she had done in the previous three days, Nue takes to planning a prank to 'greet' these new entities with in order to avoid boredom.

Surely Byakuren will accept that excuse, Nue optimistically reasons.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

The mistress has been in a bad mood lately. It almost makes Sakuya regret having Marisa take her along, as she spread the news of Reimu's disappearance to Remilia and rose her expectations tremendously. However, unable to see these expectations come to fruition for four days now, Remilia is much more irritable than usual. Beyond that, Sakuya finds herself increasingly troubled by the bandages she's had to apply to herself so far.

In hindsight, attacking a huge mound of youkai was likely a bad idea, even if she happened to be accompanied by significantly strong people. Still, she now has to deal with the consequences of her actions... Along with the mistress. "Is she awake now?" Remilia immediately asks upon sensing Sakuya's return, already grimacing as if she knew Sakuya's response beforehand; perhaps she did.

Sakuya calmly shakes her head. "She still seems to be asleep, though the hermit told me she will probably be awake by the next day," she reports with an expression of slight concern, though not enough to be substantial.

"It's been four already," Remilia bitterly counters, "and it's not even like she's sick. Just what is wrong with her?" Remilia taps her fingers on the table she is currently sitting by, impatiently so. She almost feels like rushing to the shrine herself and force her awake, but even she knows that will yield no results... Though, that thought process will probably not stop her for long.

"While no one is truly certain, the Tengu newspaper did theorize the cause to be the toxic gases of the Forest of Magic," Sakuya responds, though she herself doesn't believe it and only mentioned it for the sake of possessing some sort of answer for Remilia to go off of.

Remilia indignantly huffs. "That's just a bunch of drivel. Do you expect me to believe something like that? When I went to see Reimu yesterday, she was just sleeping, not sick. Besides, a few fumes wouldn't stop her." Remilia sips from her tea before setting it on the table with perhaps more force than necessary. "There's clearly something else at play here."

"I do agree with you, but there are still no clear answers, unfortunately. At the very least, the hermit theorizes the cause to be mental rather than physical since she is perfectly stable." Pensively, Sakuya casts her eyes to the floor. "Now if only she were wide awake to humor the mistress..."

"This is what happens when you decide to play around with youkai rather than actually finding Reimu," Remilia reprimands, ever so slightly resentful of Sakuya for that. After all, it's rather troublesome having the most competent worker in the entire mansion be the one in the worst shape.

Sakuya awkwardly glances to the side as a sheepish smile grows on her. "Do forgive me for that, mistress."

Remilia crosses her arms, seemingly disdainful. "Maybe if you get Reimu to wake up once and for all, I'll consider it."

"I'd say perhaps you have better chances of it than myself," Sakuya interjects, thinking back to the times Remilia went to the shrine to visit Reimu. At these memories, she can't help but genuinely smile. "With the way you were shaking her the first time you visited, I almost thought she'd opened her eyes."

Faintly, Remilia, too, smiles. "If Marisa didn't stop me midway, maybe she would have."

"Shall I restrain Marisa and the hermit so you can give it another try?" Sakuya playfully questions.

"What about the midget?"

"I figured you wouldn't want to know the gruesome details."

"You're underestimating me, Sakuya," Remilia counters before yawning and neutrally frowning afterwards, as if exceedingly bored. "Well, I'll forgive you for now." After one last sip of her tea, Remilia stands up. "Just go get the parasol ready. We're heading for the shrine."

As expected, Sakuya notes. With a content smile, Sakuya elegantly nods. "Right away, mistress."

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

The Hakurei Shrine.

Home to only a faint Autumn breeze, an inchling and a sleeping shrine maiden, one would think the premises remain as quiet and peaceful as always. However, for the past four days, the shrine has been receiving regular visitors, particularly youkai. Though unbefitting of a shrine to have the presence of youkai, the turmoil caused by the shrine maiden's disappearance had a peculiar reaction, and many had come to check on her condition, determined to theorize what exactly had caused it.

Even so, in these early morning hours, equally unbefitting of youkai activity, only the especially regular visitors remain in the shrine. If not for Kasen's continuous aid, an unpleasant amount of dried leaves would have piled up by the shrine grounds, but the surroundings are remarkably clean considering its usual state. Meanwhile, Marisa stays near the futon Reimu is currently sleeping in, watching out for any changes in her condition along with Shinmyoumaru, who had sworn to protect her from 'all these fishy youkai coming in all of a sudden'. Now, Shinmyoumaru is asleep on Marisa's hat, still far too drowsy to be in awake in these hours.

As for Marisa, she is only at the shrine now because she stayed the night. Kasen leaves at dawn and returns in the early morning, before Marisa even awakes, but Marisa has taken to staying in the shrine with Shinmyoumaru, though she hardly shows the amount of concern she is feeling for Reimu. Naturally, Marisa believes that Reimu will recover. However, for Reimu to be like this to begin with is unprecedented, and it surely isn't healthy to sleep for four days straight; Reimu seems pale already. Sometimes, in the boredom of watching Reimu while Shinmyoumaru sleeps, Marisa muses that maybe her soul decided to float away from reality; maybe she'd finally gotten sick of beating up youkai and shooting things down.

... Or not; that would never happen. As Marisa yawns, finding that she surely had been waking up earlier than usual all because of Kasen suddenly startling her the first time around, she briefly glances at Reimu, already expecting her to still be asleep. Marisa sighs. "Figures..." Then, she looks over at Shinmyoumaru, who is sound asleep. "Sure wish I were that carefree..." she mutters before casually and lightly poking Shinmyoumaru; Shinmyoumaru only shifts ever so slightly. As if involuntarily, Marisa wryly smiles. "My hat's not your house, ya know?" Marisa scratches her head, seemingly troubled. Despite that, Marisa does not attempt to wake Shinmyoumaru up any further and instead groggily lifts herself from her spot and stretches, noting her sore neck and arms. _Shouldn't have slept on the floor, huh..._ Marisa then glances at Shinmyoumaru again.

She just can't bring herself to remove Shinmyoumaru and stop her from sleeping; she looks far too adorable like that for Marisa not to want to keep her that way. One time, Marisa tried to wear her hat with Shinmyoumaru resting on it, but the results were disastrous, as Shinmyoumaru had found herself almost falling to the floor: Marisa had then spent about one hour listening to Shinmyoumaru complain and ramble about whatever came to mind. Along the days she had spent in the shrine, especially in the evenings, Shinmyoumaru has truly been good company, as she would rapidly erase her boredom. Overall, they have really started getting along, Marisa notes.

It isn't as though Marisa has only been to the shrine for the past days: she has also gone to Alice's house, to the Myouren Temple, to the Human Village, among other locations hoping to get some sense of closure for the case of Reimu's disappearance. However, nothing entirely conclusive reached Marisa's ears. Youkai were just gossiping about Reimu being gone, and humans were focused on the youkai parade; Mamizou herself did not seem to have gathered much clues (not that she expected much from her after what she did, Marisa begrudgingly notes). No one truly knew what happened to Reimu, and even despite Kasen and Miko's best efforts, they, too had been driven to a corner. Ultimately, Marisa figured the matter would stay a mystery and eventually gave up. After all, Marisa is no detective. Besides, without Reimu awake, no one will ever get to the bottom of anything.

Though it was only Marisa's opinion, Reimu probably knew something about what had caused her own disappearance. With the way Reimu is so deeply slumbering right now, barely anyone had believed her when she told them she had briefly awoken when Marisa found her in the Forest of Magic, but Marisa still remembers it clearly. When she'd opened her eyes, they were hazy, hollow, as if reality were not what she had reflected on her gaze; as if she were seeing something else entirely. She'd blink repeatedly, her eyelids heavy, and a grimace of utter confusion adorned her usually easygoing features; Marisa hadn't quite seen Reimu like this in the time she'd known her. At least, not without knowing why. The way Reimu called out to her, perplexed at the fact that she was even there to begin with still looms in Marisa's mind, even if, at the time, Marisa thought she was only sleep-talking without any rhyme or reason. Now, Marisa thinks there may have been something more to her behavior than that.

Regardless, Marisa has no choice but to wait for her awakening. Kasen has been taking good care of Reimu, but it's clear her current problem is not physical. Even so, Marisa can only wonder what could mentally affect Reimu to the point where she would sleep for four days straight. She'd only rarely seen Reimu sick; the last time she's ever seen Reimu greatly distraught was when her shrine was destroyed after having been built again, which was years ago. Knowing thinking about it now won't get her anywhere, Marisa dismisses the train of thought and decides she may as well check on Kasen while not helping her with the shrine (hearing Kasen nag her about it was still better than cleaning).

"My, slacking off now, are we, Reimu?" Marisa flinches at the sudden voice coming from behind her and turns around with wide eyes, clearly startled. She's experienced this before so, when she sees a very familiar youkai coming out of one of her gaps, Marisa immediately shoots her a blank look, already exasperated at her entrance.

"Do you always have to sneak into places like that? Can't ya use a door?" Marisa crosses her arms, frowning. Many youkai had come to the shrine, but Yukari hadn't appeared at all, and no signs of her presence had been felt by anyone. After four days, what could bring someone so ominous to the shrine? Marisa can only find her suspicious, as always.

"How rude," Yukari lightly remarks, clearly not offended. "What sort of way is that to welcome a visitor concerned for Reimu's health?" Yukari steps closer to Reimu's sleeping form, staring down at her with an indescribable sort of conviction: while not particularly serious or alarmed, Yukari is far from casual and apathetic, as well. "I'd been wondering if she was alright."

"Says the one youkai that wasn't there for Reimu when I really needed you to be," Marisa counters while following Yukari, as if to make sure she isn't doing or thinking anything too sinister. "Which is pretty suspicious, the more I think about it. Aren't you gonna tell me why you weren't around to search for Reimu? I mean, if you're that concerned and all."

Yukari smiles and looks to her side, towards Marisa. She does seem slightly irritated, but only because Yukari's presence always seems to rub her the wrong way. However, also being familiar with it, what is most bringing Marisa negativity is Reimu, Yukari notes; the concern is evident in her gaze. "I was asleep, of course. Daytime is hardly a time for a youkai to be active."

Marisa can only sigh at this response. "Like I said, I sure wish I were that carefree..." she mutters, as if already tired despite having just woken up. Even so, something occurs to her, and Marisa shows herself more invested in the conversation afterwards. "And aren't you sometimes up and about in the morning? Youmu told me your shikigami was in the Netherworld four days ago."

"And why would that be strange? Humans also like playing around at night sometimes," Yukari responds, "Youkai are no different, in this case. Naturally, Ran covered for me and obeyed my orders."

Yukari's reasoning is clean and assertive, leaving little space for argument. While it does add up in Marisa's mind, she still can't help but doubt Yukari in all of her ominous existence. It isn't like Yukari never acts on whims; she's certainly entered her house at random moments without much reason for it. However, Marisa doesn't see that as the usual Yukari: she must have some sort of purpose to her visit; the fact that it's always unclear whether Yukari even has a motive or not only makes her more and more suspicious in her eyes. Perhaps, that's precisely what she wants. "And why'd you send Youmu to the mountain? Don't you normally get Reimu to do these things?"

"I don't recall ever telling Reimu to give me a report," Yukari responds, seemingly amused at Marisa's question. "Are you perhaps so suspicious of me that you've started imagining things by yourself? I might just be more concerned with your health than Reimu's now."

Marisa grimaces, somewhat offended but unwilling to go as far as showing herself angered by Yukari, knowing she would enjoy that. "Well, I've never seen ya ask for something like that either. Why'd you do it, then? Why would you go that far for the mountain? Doesn't look so threatening to me that you'd bother."

Yukari only ever so slightly narrows her eyes, and her smile widens just as faintly. "You're certainly full of questions today, Marisa," Yukari remarks. "I suppose it's good to be so energetic in the morning, though that description hardly fits me, admittedly enough. Speaking of, I didn't think it would fit you; I can only imagine the hermit is doing wonders on your usual schedule." Marisa's eyebrows only furrow at what seems to be Yukari's way of avoiding the topic. "Regardless, I may not really look like it, but I do get busy from time to time to the point where I can't be on top of every single situation by myself. So, what do you believe friends are for, in these situations?"

"So you were too busy sleeping?" Marisa blankly questions, clearly doubtful. She had actually thought Yukari would simply not answer her, but even the answer itself is unsatisfying.

At the inquiry, Yukari elegantly chuckles, momentarily covering her mouth with her fan as she does so. "As a matter of fact, I was. Are you interested in knowing how?"

"Looks like I'm not the only one full of questions today," Marisa dryly retorts, getting somewhat impatient at Yukari's roundabout ways. Marisa, being so straightforward, only wishes Yukari would simply state her business clearly and go through with whatever it is said business happens to be.

"I must be especially well-rested now," Yukari says, almost dismissively so. "Though my nap four days ago was not particularly good for resting, I did feel refreshed, in a way. Did you know? I had quite the dream while Reimu was missing. I'd truly not rampaged like that in a long time; it proved rather satisfying."

"Uh-huh..."

"Now, now," Yukari utters, noting Marisa's vacant stare, as if struggling to absorb something wholly irrelevant. "Isn't it bad manners not to properly listen? I'm telling you this out of my goodwill; I'd surely like some appreciation in that regard." _Goodwill? Don't make me laugh,_ Marisa thinks, but decides she may as well listen since it seems Yukari will not finish her business otherwise and keep pressing onward. "Anyway, where was I...?" For a moment, Yukari pensively and almost absent-mindedly looks up at the ceiling. Then, she playfully smiles. "Oh yes, the dream. I'd dreamt of a flower; a flower who can't dream, to be precise. The flower was so dejected when I first found him, that I figured I may as well ease his non-existent spirits. I decided we set up a judgment ground to reach our conclusions: a way in which we could determine whether there was any worth to those who don't sit at the border between humans and youkai. However, between me, someone who sees the society of Gensokyo in such a biased fashion, and the flower, who was going to be judged to begin with, there was no fair, unbiased judge. Still, I tricked the flower: I told him I could provide him this judge, when there was never such a thing to begin with at my disposal. In turn, I pointed to someone almost as biased as myself, but lacking in the context I possessed."

Marisa takes in Yukari's words with a remarkably serious frown. "That's... An oddly specific dream you're telling me about." She hadn't thought there was meaning to it at first, but the more she thinks about it, the more she may have been wrong in light of its contents.

"For a dream, it was very marking, so I remember it vividly," Yukari responds. "Don't you also have your share of dreams of long ago you still remember?" The question is rhetorical, and Marisa doesn't bother to answer. Instead, she decides to focus on Yukari's story. Noting said surfacing investment, Yukari can't help but smile in amusement. "Whatever the case, at the time, I knew how much of a hassle it would be to set up this judgment ground, but still, I busied myself forcing the cooperation of beings much more knowledgeable than myself in these areas. Most were unwilling to aid us, warning us of 'great dangers' and whatnot, so the flower and I had to beat them senseless." Yukari snickers, reminiscing. "When we did get a hold of one, we carried out my plan. With the help of a certain someone who gladly agreed to share their own dreams and recollections, we built the perfect unsubstantial judgment ground. And so, we watched. Things were looking up for the flower's side. Even the flower was surprised at the lack of carnage, and I was ever so slightly disappointed. By the very end, though it had been more than evident already, I requested a clear, solid verdict and sent the flower as a means to attain one. Is the flower guilty, or innocent? Forgiven or unforgivable? In the end, the flower was found innocent and our judgment ground came to an abrupt close, without even the time to chat with the flower. Afterwards, I woke up, unscathed."

Marisa holds her chin with her right hand, ever so slightly covering her mouth as she stands deep in thought. Judgment ground? 'A certain someone'? To begin with, why was she working with a flower? Who did she have to beat? Marisa feels as if she'd been given the answers on a silver platter, but is still unable to decipher them; that fact mildly irritates her. Is this truly just a random dream for the youkai of boundaries, one that she merely decided to tell Marisa out of her own whims for her amusement? Or was it something else? Regardless, not expecting Marisa to speak up, Yukari frowns, continuing with her own words: "Four days later, and I find that Reimu is still asleep. I thought there would be a party right about now."

Yukari seems genuinely troubled by this development, Marisa notes; at least, her expression indicates it quite clearly. As much as Marisa is curious about Yukari's dream, thinking it must be the key to something, she finds the topic of Reimu easier to ponder on and approach, and someone like Yukari could provide her with clues. "About that," she utters, "do you have any idea why Reimu's like this?"

"I might," she responds, almost about to disappoint Marisa greatly before she continues to speak: "You know, Marisa, dreams are very dangerous things." A cold, almost somber gaze befalls Yukari as she explains this, almost as if to further evidence that the matter is of the utmost urgency. "When you dream, your consciousness leaves for an entirely different world where you can experience anything at all. Haven't you ever heard of people who dream of falling indefinitely? There are even those who dream of death itself. You can dismiss it as not part of your reality, but the fact that your mind was experiencing it still stands, and whatever shock you feel will ultimately affect you mentally. Sometimes, the sheer mental trauma may lead people to insanity, or even make them never wake up again. Because of this, those who have the innate power to control dreams, too, are among the most dangerous of youkai." Yukari's words weigh on Marisa, who listens to this in a mixture of shock and dread. If even Yukari considers it a dangerous matter, it must surely be so; Marisa herself had never given much thought to dreams in this manner. "But then again, dreams themselves are malleable: if you find yourself dreaming, you can use whatever power you imagine, which is just as dangerous. If you consider this, wouldn't she perhaps still be asleep because her own mind was forcefully disrupted or disturbed? Reimu's mind is likely taking the toll of an especially shocking and unnatural dream."

Awed, Marisa stares at Yukari for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "You mean... She might be like this just because of a dream?" Marisa questions, incredulous.

"Dreams weigh heavily on the mind; they are an integral part of your subconscious. Under the appropriate circumstances, they would be more than capable of causing something like this." As she stares down at a sleeping Reimu, Yukari sighs, seemingly troubled. _Though I didn't expect youkai masterful in dream manipulation to cause a mishap as embarrassing and incompetent as this one._ Regardless, Yukari manages a faint smile. "In any case, this is Reimu we are talking about. Even if something were to have momentarily disturbed her subconscious, she will probably come back as if nothing ever occurred to her. I admittedly came over here because I was worried, but with how peacefully she seems to be sleeping, I've no doubt she'll wake up soon."

... Despite such words from Yukari, Marisa finds herself apprehensively chuckling. "Still, dreams are pretty scary, huh?"

"On the other hand, you can also experience all sorts of positive sensations from them," Yukari adds, looking towards Marisa with a devious smile. "So it can also make your wishes come true, even if not in a physical sense. After all, nothing about a dream is truly substantial."

"I dunno about you, but I don't think that makes 'em all that much better..." Marisa glances at Shinmyoumaru, who is currently still asleep. She wonders what sort of dream she is seeing. _I hope she's alright over there,_ she momentarily thinks. "I mean, it's not even like you can dream forever."

"You'd be surprised at the number of entities who've only ever lived in dreams," Yukari lightly retorts, though something about it strikes Marisa as awfully serious.

Marisa wryly smiles before snidely uttering, "I bet you probably dream a lot, too."

Yukari lowly chuckles. "That I do, but lately, I've been having quite the nightmares. I do wonder if someone has a grudge on me now," Yukari playfully remarks, as if only amused at what Marisa perceives to be an entirely dangerous situation. "Anyway, now that you know why I was so busy the day Reimu went missing and I have some closure on Reimu's condition, I suppose I'll leave."

Surprised and skeptic, Marisa frowns. "Wait, that's all you came here for?"

"Of course," Yukari responds without hesitation or hassle. "Were you expecting something else? I did say I came here because I was concerned with Reimu's health, but I've already verified that Reimu's just fine. Now, I'll have to busy myself with other things, such as what exactly happened while I wasn't looking. I had Youmu go to the mountain for a reason." Or multiple reasons, but Yukari has no business telling that to Marisa.

In fact, she never had much business telling Marisa about that dream, either. However, Yukari opened an exception for her because she knew Marisa would never truly understand it, especially as she had hardly diclosed most of her true intentions. Even if she did, it wouldn't trouble her or her plans, which had all come to fruition already. Besides, she did enjoy confusing Marisa from time to time. Meanwhile, if she'd told Kasen, she would most likely catch on. Yukari knows Marisa will tell her, but the details will be vague, and suspicion is ephemeral. Besides, her actions were all for Gensokyo's common good, and Kasen is on her side. Whatever others may throw at her, Yukari is convicted of that. "Well, goodbye," Yukari says before stepping back from Reimu and opening a gap in front of her to step towards. Without giving Marisa any time to say any parting words, Yukari merely slips in, and the gap disappears. Marisa stares at it for a while, processing Yukari's visit. Just what exactly was Yukari's dream? And, more importantly, what dream did Reimu have that would render her in this state?

Meanwhile, Yukari's priorities lie elsewhere: the nature of the entities she has just allowed into Gensokyo. Though anything supernatural, by definition, classifies as a sort of youkai, the way in which the mountain's people function strays from the core of 'youkai', and cannot be fit into Humanity either. However, Gensokyo is to welcome all that is fantastical that the Outside will not. The mountain population, too, fits in with this label. Still, if they are ever to adapt to the laws of Gensokyo, they must do so under the youkai role, and for that, a watchful eye will have to be kept on them. Yukari had been eyeing Mt. Ebott ever since the legends started to fade, and she had known it better than to risk it transporting itself to its present time, where youkai tensions may just grow. In this particular state of time, where only small sparks are present, the mountain is much more manageable, and she can see to it they become but a backdrop to the conflict. If anything, she already has.

No one truly knows about this, but Mt. Ebott had actually appeared the day before Reimu's disappearance. Its first visitor was Yukari, the very person that momentarily hid the mountain from Gensokyo's eyes so as to go about her own business. The second visitor was Ran, her shikigami, who had been the one to truly interact with the monsters whilst Yukari talked to other, more special existences. Luckily, the human was more than cooperative, and they promised to keep every detail of Yukari's visit their own little secret.

Yukari quietly chuckles. Even though surprising events such as the youkai parade and Reimu's slumber had occurred, things went swimmingly for Yukari. Now, she only has to wait for the party.

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Kasen returned to the shrine building proper an hour after Marisa's conversation with Yukari. When she did, Marisa immediately told her of Yukari's dream and the theory she had left her about Reimu's condition. She firmly nodded, finding it more than within the realm of possibility that a dream could be the cause of Reimu's mental shock. However, Yukari's visit and the supposed strange dream struck as the oddest part for her. Was the dream merely told to Marisa so as to segway into the topic of Reimu's condition, or did it hold a special sort of meaning none can truly comprehend? As she prepares tea for Marisa, herself and Shinmyoumaru, who'd just awoken, she continues to ponder on this.

Meanwhile, Marisa and Shinmyoumaru take to conversing in the midst of their boredom near Reimu. "Seriously, that Yukari youkai just sounds creepy," Shinmyoumaru comments, "I bet she was saying that to throw you off and pretending it was useful; what a bully!" Presently, Marisa is sitting on the floor, and Shinmyoumaru is on top of her right shoulder so she can be better heard when speaking. Feeling Shinmyoumaru's feet on her shoulder is a very strange sensation, Marisa casually notes, but she also finds it cool that she literally has a tiny person on her right shoulder so she is willing to let that slide.

"I dunno about that," Marisa responds, not particularly irritated or surprised now that so much time has passed since the conversation. She now recalls it in a more nonchalant fashion, more worried over Reimu's condition than anything else. "When she's just messin' around with me, I don't think she usually does it that elaborately. Why'd she make up some dream just so it'd sound smart?"

"Because she's a bully, duh! She's looking down on you!" Shinmyoumaru argues, absolutely convinced this youkai Marisa talked about was up to no good and probably shouldn't be trusted. "And you fell for it like an idiot!" Shinmyoumaru crosses her arms while cheekily smiling. "I bet she's laughing at you now. If you had woken me up, I would've told her off for you and you wouldn't have been humiliated. That's why you totally should've woken me up and let me meet her!"

"You're just saying that because you wanted to see her, aren't ya?" Marisa blankly questions.

"Maaaaaybe," Shinmyoumaru responds in a mock-innocent fashion. Then, she frowns, slightly pensive. "I mean, she kind of sounds like a big deal, and she knew what happened to Reimu right away, didn't she? Maybe she knows a way for the Miracle Mallet to recover its power faster!"

Marisa glances at Shinmyoumaru, who she can barely see from the corner of her eye. "I think you'd be better off asking someone else," she says, "And, trust me, you might as well never see her, too. Yukari's the definition of 'suspicious'. You should be glad she doesn't randomly go into your house just because she feels like it."

"That'd suck," Shinmyoumaru immediately utters, imagining her privacy being invaded constantly by a suspicious-looking lady.

"Right?" Marisa was about to shrug, but she notes that this could make Shinmyoumaru lose her balance and fall off her shoulder, so she refrains from the action. "No matter how you slice it, you're the lucky one here, not me. She just dumped some cryptic stuff on me and left."

Shinmyoumaru finds herself reluctantly nodding only because she still wanted to oppose Marisa somehow; however, she can't help but agree. "Yeah, I guess you were unlucky. While I was just peacefully sleeping through the whole thing, you were getting bullied and hurt and scared by some youkai, which is really pitiful." Shinmyoumaru smirks. "That's just the worst. Sucks to be you."

Marisa's smile becomes more apprehensive in nature. "You didn't have to rub it in." Naturally, to get back at Shinmyoumaru, Marisa planned on saying something else, some mean-spirited remark that would assert her superiority in banter. However, Marisa is immediately rendered silent by what she sees in front of her.

Reimu shifts in place, her hands trembling. Marisa and Shinmyoumaru look at this in awe, with their mouths agape. Seeing Reimu's eyelids show signs of movement as well, Marisa and Shinmyoumaru glance at each other in pure surprise. "H-hey..." Shinmyoumaru calls out, as if Marisa's presence and support could calm her extreme anxiety. "Could it be that s-she..."

Faintly, Marisa and Shinmyoumaru hear Reimu groan. They snap their attention to her immediately. They continue gawking at the fact that Reimu's eyes are slowly opening. Reimu is blinking in succession in order to better dismiss her drowsiness as she attempts to raise from the futon, only to grimace. "Ugh, why am I so sore...?" Reimu mutters, perplexed.

"REIMU!" Shinmyoumaru leaps from Marisa's shoulder and rushes for Reimu just after processing that she truly is waking up before her very eyes. Agitated, Marisa follows, but draws her distance by only positioning herself near Reimu's futon. Meanwhile, Shinmyoumaru grabs onto Reimu's arm as if her life depends on it, which makes Reimu shift her gaze towards Shinmyoumaru in complete confusion and awkwardness.

"W-what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Reimu asks, surprised. She lifts her arm, which is also extremely sore, and watches Shinmyoumaru still grasping it, floating in the air. Now that Shinmyoumaru is at her eye level, Reimu notes that she is crying. "Seriously..." Concerned, but mainly confused at this level of sadness, Reimu scratches her head with her other arm while glancing around. Then, she notices Marisa.

Marisa is smiling down at Reimu, though in a much more somber manner than Reimu is used to. "Took you long enough," Marisa wryly remarks, unsure of how else to express her relief. "You've been sleeping for four days straight."

Reimu's eyes only widen further at this discovery. "Wait, what?!" She looks down at a crying Shinmyoumaru, processing her genuine sadness, and back at Marisa, who isn't lying, for once. "I was...?"

Marisa crosses her arms. "You don't remember? You passed out in the Forest of Magic and went missing for a whole day. If I hadn't found ya, you'd have stayed there." Reimu takes in these words, still in shock.

Hearing footsteps, Marisa looks towards the door, which is swiftly slid to the side to make way for Kasen. "Just what is going on h— You...!" Kasen immediately spots an awakened Reimu and frowns. "Do you know how much trouble you caused us?! You were sleeping for four days! That's four days of me taking care of your shrine for you, and four days of you slacking off in your duties!" Reimu vacantly blinks at the sight of Kasen, who had suddenly entered the room and seemingly lectured her, something Reimu hardly wants to hear after waking up at the shrine completely sore. Figuring that Reimu didn't truly listen to a word she said, probably having just woken up from her slumber, Kasen silences herself, stares at her for a moment, and exhales in pure relief. "Just... Thank goodness you're up, Reimu."

Reimu awkwardly grimaces, still completely uncertain of what to make of this situation. "Uh, okay," she utters, if not just to relay to Kasen that she is responsive. Confused, even bewildered, Reimu takes to thinking of her circumstances, furrowing her eyebrows in mild frustration as she finds herself sick of her own awe-struck state. She feels a small part of her arm getting wet and briefly looks down at Shinmyoumaru with a blank gaze, but she can't bring herself to remove her. "So... Let me see if I get this straight: in the morning of the incident, I saw the mountain and decided to check it out. And then..." At first, she draws a blank and pauses, scrambling for some form of a recollection of the past event. "And then, while I was flying... I felt all drowsy, and before I knew it..."

"You were passed out at the Forest of Magic," Marisa interjects, thinking this would actually help Reimu process what had occurred to her faster.

However, against her expectations, Reimu's expression shows even more confusion than before as she shifts her gaze towards Marisa. "Huh? Wait, you found me at the Forest of Magic, right?"

"That's what I've been telling ya," Marisa responds, more perplexed at the fact that Reimu is in such a way confused than anything. _Just what sort of thing scrambled her mind this hard?_ Marisa thinks, slightly worried.

"But the last thing I remember is..." Reimu casts her eyes to the sheets covering her legs, narrowing them as she gives serious thought to her own memories. She reminds herself of the voice that called her name and put an end to the reality she had been seeing; Marisa's voice. "So, in other words, I was always at the Forest of Magic?"

"Not unless you were sleepwalking," Marisa says, "which I'm pretty sure you don't do."

"I was sleeping the whole time..." Reimu mutters to herself, as if to dispel her own disbelief.

Worryingly, Kasen and Marisa glance at each other. "Reimu," Kasen softly calls out. "Is there something else you remember that doesn't match up?"

 _"So you'd SPARE me?"_

Some of the details slipped away from her mind, but Reimu can still vividly remember the last moments.

 _"To be honest, I had fun watching you. Maybe this Gensokyo place won't bore me for longer than I thought if it's full of people like you."_

Suddenly, a headache surges, causing Reimu to reflexively clutch her head with the arm Shinmyoumaru was grabbing onto. "Whoa...!" Shinmyoumaru shouts, admittedly shocked at the movement as she struggles to grab on and fails to do so, causing her to fall to the sheets, in between Reimu's legs. "W-what's wrong with you this time?!"

 _"Can't you tell?"_

"R-Reimu?" Marisa utters, surprised.

While Marisa watches on in worry, Kasen kneels down beside Reimu immediately. "Is everything alright? If it hurts thinking about it, you don't have to, you know? There's no pressure."

 _"I've been watching you from the start."_

 _"Human... You..."_

 _"it wasn't so bad havin' someone like you fall down here, for a change."_

 _"THIS IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS YOU'RE TALKING TO NOW! DO YOU AT LEAST REMEMBER THAT?!"_

 _"I'll be waiting."_

 _"Are you... r-really human?"_

 _"When I leave for the surface, I'll find you and get that rematch if it's the last thing I'll do. Got that?! You'll see how determined monsters can be then!"_

 _"You are truly one of a kind, child."_

 _"Going back to Snowdin is too troublesome now that I'm all the way over here, so tell Papyrus I'll give everything back to him on the other side."_

Reimu only scowls through the pain, bearing it for the sake of the memories that had remained with her. The confusion is still apparent in her mind, which still seems to struggle to make out reality, but Reimu sees in her the need to endure it. She looks down at the sheets, on which Shinmyoumaru is lying on, staring back at Reimu in a mixture of shock and worry, much like Marisa and Kasen, who don't exactly know what to make of Reimu's mental turmoil.

Meanwhile, Reimu, even in spite of the pain, tries to piece together what she can remember: she'd been to the Underground, trapped by a barrier, and interacted with many different sorts of youkai that, in the end, were never youkai to begin with before seeing the end of her adventure with him, the flower. While no one knew of Gensokyo or could even conceive Reimu's society, he explicitly referenced it, as if he had been there; as if he were a newcomer.

 _"It's me, Flowey! Flowey, the flower!"_

In a slower fashion than usual, Reimu picks Shinmyoumaru up. "W-what's the big deal now, seriously?! Just tell us something already!" Shinmyoumaru exclaims as she flails her arms and legs around, having been grabbed by her kimono. Reimu drops her near Kasen, next to the futon before moving the sheets away from her legs. As expected, there are no leg warmers; her bag is also missing. This doesn't faze Reimu. "First, you worry us for no good reason, and now you're just moving me as you please?! You're way too mean, Reimu!" Instead, Kasen and Marisa can only look in wonder as Reimu's strained expression gradually softens in its suffering and becomes one closer and closer to pure conviction.

It isn't as though Reimu is no longer confused. Instead, Reimu is simply resolute despite her deep confusion. Pressing her hand onto the floor next to her, she uses that force as a way to propel her sore self up from the bed and succeeds, though not without at first spreading her arms out briefly so as to balance herself. She grimaces from the pain, but her gaze remains full of resolve as she faces the exit out of the room. "I'm sorry for worrying you before, but I'm going to the mountain now."

"... Huh?" Marisa, Shinmyoumaru and Kasen collectively utter in light of the tremendously sudden statement from Reimu, which seems to have no origin they could ever trace.

"See you later," she says before walking out of the room without any hesitation, leaving the three behind. At a fast pace, ignoring her sore muscles and great hunger (which has just started settling in), she quickly takes to exiting the shrine, though not without hearing footsteps from behind her.

"Reimu, wait! You're in no condition to do something like that right now!" a voice Reimu can easily associate with Kasen shouts in an agitated fashion, but Reimu does not look back or slow down.

"What's gotten into ya all of a sudden?!" However, at Marisa's voice, Reimu merely narrows her eyes. It was Marisa who awoke her from that dream...

That dream which Reimu almost perceived as real; Reimu cannot simply go on without getting to the bottom of it. What was the purpose behind it? Why did she fall asleep only to see it? Who had caused her to dream? Whoever it was, Reimu resolutely notes, they will learn their lesson no matter what.

As Reimu faces the sunlight, now outside, she smiles. As if even the sun were supporting her, Reimu feels herself ever so slightly warmer despite the faint breeze. Moving forward, she notices the clean state of her shrine with slight wonder. Kasen had truly been helping her, and the first people there for her were Marisa and Shinmyoumaru. Marisa had searched for her.

Reimu had never really thought she would be missed. Naturally, the thought brought anger upon her, as she felt that she, of all people, held the right to be missed. However, now that others have truly shown concern over her missing self, Reimu can only somberly smile.

Just as she is about to take off into the air, she spots a tiny figure at a short distance from her. They seem to have just gone up the stairs to the shrine, and look clearly human. A visitor to the shrine? While Reimu had plans to leave, she finds herself approaching and staring at the child that had appeared before her. "Hello there," Reimu kindly greets as she bends her knees somewhat so as to be closer to the child's line of sight. "Did you come all this way to pray? I appreciate the visit, but the path is dangerous for a child to walk around alone. Where are your parents?"

The child raises their face in Reimu's direction, but their eyes remain closed. Looking them over in case they happen to be wounded, Reimu only finds that their clothing is not normal: wearing a blue and purple striped shirt and shorts, they hardly seem dressed up for the late Autumn weather.

The child smiles, and tells Reimu that they are in a mountain.

"Huh?" Reimu utters, perplexed. "In a mountain?" However, as she gives thought to the child's response, she frowns. "Are they hurt? Did you come to me for help?"

The child shakes their head.

Reimu can certainly see that the child does not look as though they have gone through any sort of traumatic event. "Then... Could you be from the Outside World? Your outfit looks foreign, after all. You must be lost." Reimu sighs. "I suppose a visitor would be too good to be true..."

The child proceeds to inform Reimu that they are, in fact, a visitor.

Reimu's eyes widen in surprise. "Really?" The child immediately nods in response, which leaves Reimu to awkwardly glance to the side. "I see..." It seems as though they are not an Outsider, surprisingly enough. Reimu manages a small smile and looks back at the child. "Well, as I said, you're welcome here, but you shouldn't be going to the shrine alone. The next time you decide to go, take someone from your family here, alright?" The child nods again. "After you're done here, I'll take you home just this once, so you better follow through with that." _It looks like I'll have to leave the flower for later..._

The child stretches their hand out to Reimu, offering her a handshake.

From the doors of the shrine building, Marisa and Kasen, along with Shinmyoumaru, who is on Marisa's shoulder once more, take sight of this interaction with curious eyes. They can only see Reimu from behind, so they are unable to make out her expression, and they are too far away from her to listen in on the conversation, but still, they find themselves simply staring at the mysterious child.

As Reimu returns their handshake with a curious gaze, she feels the child's grip on her hand weakening. They are still brightly smiling in a manner as warm as the sunlight Reimu is currently feeling, and there is a distinct lack of hesitation in the handshake itself. In it is a sort of determination Reimu can't quite place.

When the child lets go of Reimu, they falter, wobbling in place slightly. Noticing this, they sheepishly scratch their head, as if the matter were only lightly troublesome. "Wait, are you okay?" Reimu asks, surprised at their sudden deteriorating condition. Even now, their hands tremble frantically, and the child's smile fades as they frown pensively and curiously. They seem almost unfazed. As if to prove it, they shrug in response to Reimu's question. "You definitely don't look like you're okay." Though, she, too, feels just as lacking in energy, albeit she has no great concern for her own condition. She knows she is better off remaining in the shrine for the sake of her health, but she has other priorities. "Really, it's nice to have visitors, but you should go home to your parents. Where's your house? I'll take you there right now. I was about to go out anyway, so this is actually convenient."

Calmly, the child shakes their head, as if to immediately refuse her offer. Seemingly exasperated, Reimu scowls, but she is given no time to reprimand them for their recklessness as the child begins to fall on their back, onto the shrine grounds. "Hey...!" Reimu shouts as she rushes to grab onto the child so they would not hit their head, and she manages to succeed at this, having wrapped her arms around their back before it hit the ground. However, in face of this direct contact, the child is unresponsive, and their head hangs back, heavy. They seem to be unconscious, and Reimu can hear their quiet breathing. They did not look particularly weak when she scrutinized them. In fact, as Reimu raises their head by placing one of her hand on its back, Reimu feels their forehead with her own as if to check their temperature. Reimu grimaces in confusion: they seem perfectly fine. "Were they just tired...?"

"Woah, what happened with the kid?" a familiar voice asks from behind Reimu, warranting only a glance from her. Marisa is standing nearby, staring at Reimu and the child with a remarkably nonchalant expression on her face, the most present in terms of emotions being light curiosity. Grabbing onto Marisa's shirt is Shinmyoumaru, still on top of Marisa's shoulder. "They just passed out all of a sudden."

"I'm not sure," Reimu responds, "They're just sleeping now." Troubled, Reimu attempts to lift the child so as to carry them. To her weakened self, this is admittedly more of a struggle than it should've been seeing as the child is lighter than normal, but she winces, only barely being able to withstand carrying them. "Since I don't know where they live, I'm taking them to the shrine until they wake up."

"So you're not going to the mountain anymore?" Shinmyoumaru questions while frowning Reimu's way. Even now, she feels some form of resentment for the way Reimu had so suddenly left her behind.

"Not for today, at least. I can't just leave them here and go to the mountain." Reimu shrugs in a strained manner as she walks towards the shrine building, spotting Kasen nearby.

Kasen is eyeing the child in awe, only to look up at Reimu with a serious, ominous frown on her face. "Isn't this similar to what happened to you? They've fallen asleep." At first, Reimu blinks, bewildered by her words. However, she then grimaces.

"Another victim, huh..." Reimu mutters while coldly looking down at the child, peacefully slumbering. _It looks like I really need to go get some answers out of that mountain... And out of that flower._ "I'll get to the bottom of this."

* * *

 **. . .**

* * *

Ultimately, Kasen and Marisa left the Hakurei Shrine, both with differing destinations. While Marisa looked to tell other people of Reimu's awakening, Kasen was supposedly going to report about this second victim to Miko, who is currently investigating the incident. Although Remilia and Sakuya had gone to visit Reimu, they thought she would be asleep and were satisfied when they saw her awake, so they left quickly. After finally having some form of lunch with Shinmyoumaru, who is acting especially sulky around her to the point of having left to her own tiny room, Reimu is now simply sitting near the futon she had been asleep in, staring at the child who has taken her place.

Truthfully, she wants to fly to the mountain immediately. While she was lacking in energy before, she feels better now, and finds the fact that she has to merely watch over a child to be a waste of her time she could be spending subduing the culprit. However, not wanting to take any risks in regards to their health, Reimu is forced to wait for their awakening, assuming it will come today. "I wonder if I can get Kasen to stick around for them..." After all, she did stay for Reimu.

Reimu sighs. "I need to meet that flower somehow..." Extremely bored after more than an hour of staring at the child, Reimu figures she needs fresh air and decides to leave the room. The more she delays her trip to the mountain, the more likely it will be for the number of victims to increase. Whatever the nature of this incident happens to be, Reimu is the only one with a clear lead and knows that she must take action.

Finding herself face to face with the early afternoon sky, Reimu faintly smiles. "Well, just you wait..." She does not need to stray any further from the room; Reimu decides to watch the sky from the shrine's entrance. Simply being outside is refreshing to Reimu, who feels as though she has barely moved for a very long time. She stretches as her eyes fall upon the mountain in the horizon, adding to the landscape of Gensokyo.

"They're not a victim, you know?"

Reimu's eyes widen in shock at the familiar voice. Immediately, she turns to its source, which she assumes to be by her right, near a corner of the shrine's outer walls. She'd recognized that voice from her dream, to the point where she doubted her ears until she took sight of the one entity she had been looking for.

A golden flower, slyly smiling in her direction. "They CHOSE to be in that state. They're more of an accomplice than I ever was."

"Flowey..." Reimu mutters, taking in his presence. _So he was real after all. I knew it..._

"Golly, you remember? And here I thought I was nothing special to you," he snidely remarks, seemingly amused. "Your words, not mine."

"You're talking about that dream, right?" As Reimu looks down at Flowey, she finds herself smiling. "I admittedly didn't think I'd have the culprit come over for me, but it's sure convenient!" Immediately, she grasps five amulets, seemingly prepared for battle.

Meanwhile, Flowey frowns, ever so slightly exasperated at Reimu's attitude. "Were you even listening? I'm not the mastermind," he plainly asserts. "If anything, I'm a victim just like you. I was actually forced into the whole plan by the culprit herself." Though she shows herself doubtful, a memory surges to mind.

 _"Anyway, just ignore whatever it is that's bringing you back and answer the question already. I REALLY don't wanna know what she'll do to me if you don't."_

For a moment, Reimu feels lightheaded, but recovers while wearing a grimace. "And why did you come here? To tell me about the mastermind? After all, if you were forced, you of all people would know who the mastermind is."

"Of course I know who she is. But then again, I'm not stupid enough to go against HER," Flowey says, "so I'm not here because of that. Besides, I've been here ever since you got carried to the shrine." Flowey glances to the side. "I just decided to reveal myself now because I figured you were thinking this is all some continuous incident you had to solve."

Reimu raises her eyebrows in pure skepticism. "Isn't it one? I've been put to sleep and so has a kid visiting my shrine. For all I know, there could be some youkai inducing sleep on people who needs to be punished, and I need to stop them."

"See? You're completely wrong, just like I expected," Flowey wryly remarks, smirking as he looks up at Reimu, who is now furrowing her eyebrows in irritation from the quick rejection of her theory. "Think about it. Where did the Underground and all the monsters you dreamed up even come from? SOMEONE had to give up their own dreams for you."

"Are you saying that kid is in league with the mastermind?" Reimu questions in disbelief. Then, her grimace only deepens further. "Are you sure they weren't forced into it like you were?"

"I know them better than you do. After hearing it was for everyone's sake, they probably didn't even hesitate to cooperate with her. What an idiot, right?" Despite the mean-spirited grin he wore as he said that, his stem returned to his usual expression, though he now frowns, displeased. "They didn't think about the risks at all and ended up just like you because they got their dreams messed around with. They weren't even supposed to be awake back then. I bet they were just that determined to see you. I don't know what dream they saw, but it probably had something to do with you."

Reluctantly, Reimu takes in Flowey's words, perceiving the scenario they paint to be entirely conceivable. After all, she had also been able to wake up for a brief moment, making it possible that the child, too, was awake only temporarily before falling asleep due to their scrambled mind. Besides, this also explains why they would visit Reimu to begin with: because they knew about her and wanted to see her face-to-face. Reimu narrows her eyes, pensive. "Then, in the end, what was the point of doing something like that? Dreams don't affect anything in reality. Did the culprit just want to anger me?"

"I guess it wouldn't be strange for you to assume something like that. It looked pretty meaningless, didn't it? After all, the monsters you dreamed about will never remember you. They never actually met you to begin with." Flowey smirks, relishing in the bitter truth, finding only amusement in it as he cannot feel much else. "All you saw was copy of what THEY had to go through. Having you there is as pointless as it gets. At least, that's what I thought at first. When I asked her about her motive, she said it was to see whether even the Hakurei Shrine Maiden would accept the monsters into Gensokyo or not. But, in my opinion..." Flowey's smirk only widens. "That was probably a big fat lie. If the monsters hadn't been accepted already, they wouldn't have been allowed to come over here at all. SHE would have made sure of it. The REAL reason she set the whole thing up is so everybody else would start accepting monsters faster. She just brought me along because she wanted me to meet you."

"... Is that so?" Reimu absent-mindedly questions in the midst of her varying thoughts about the myriad of clues she received from Flowey. Her gaze cold, she sees herself reaching ever closer to the truth. Ultimately, she finds herself grimacing, troubled. "I think I'm starting to get who this mastermind even is... If she bothered to tell you something like that without making sure you wouldn't keep quiet, it's because she had no reservations about being found out in the first place. But then again, since it was all a dream, there's no evidence to begin with, huh?" Reimu sighs as a clear indication of her decreasing motivation to pursue the mountain. "What a bother... Well, she'll get what's coming for her the next time around. For now, I'm curious about the last thing you told me." With a neutral expression, she crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows. "You think she brought you to my dream because she wanted me to meet you, right? I agree: it's either that, or one of her whims; you can never be too sure when it comes to her. Still, what makes you so special she'd bother bringing you to my attention? Aren't you just a monster?"

"I wish," Flowey responds while wistfully looking to the side, as if to avoid Reimu's clear gaze. His smile is wry and sour as he reminisces, exasperation welling up inside of him. "I'm just a flower right now, but I USED to be a monster. It's a long story. You probably don't have the patience to listen to it, if the dream's anything to go by. What matters now is that I don't have a soul anymore and she must have wanted you to keep an eye out for me because of it."

"You don't have a soul...?" Reimu mutters, skeptical. She stares at Flowey for a few moments, as if to see through him. _Now that he mentions it..._ Finding that she was being awfully silent, Flowey turns to look at Reimu again, only to see a strangely serious and ominous expression from her. "You... _Are_ pretty strange-seeming. There's definitely something off about you. You live in the mountain, right?" _I suppose I'll have to pay a visit for other reasons..._

Flowey frowns in a seemingly troubled, awkward fashion. "Uh. About that." Seeing an overwhelming look of curiosity placed upon him, Flowey scrambles to cheerfully smile and winks, as if to make himself more endearing and convincing. "You're curious about why I showed up to talk, aren'tcha? It couldn't have been just to prove you wrong, after all. Well, I've been in the shrine for a while now, so I've been thinking..." So as to avoid Reimu's gaze, Flowey innocently looks to the side. "Maybe I should just start living here forever?"

"What?"

"You know, because I don't actually have anywhere to call a home right now," Flowey says while willfully ignoring Reimu, whose expression of confusion is awfully severe. "And, all things considered, this IS the safest place in all of Gensokyo. I mean, I technically don't need anywhere to live in, so it's not like you have to do anything for me either. I just need a place I can stay at without risking an attack by some random youkai. Besides..." Flowey's cheerful expression suddenly decays as a demented, eerie smile and big, wide eyes stare precisely into Reimu's; Reimu herself isn't particularly intimidated by the attempt. "I'm more dangerous than I look. Without somebody watching over me, who knows what I could do?" In fact, Reimu's dumbfounded, exceedingly confused expression remains in place.

"Are you serious right now?" Reimu's eyebrows furrow and she frowns, displeased. "This is a shrine, you know? It's not a place made to accommodate weird things like you. I'm not about to let you loiter around when there are already baseless rumors about this place being a youkai shrine!" she argues, finding herself angrier and angrier the more she ponders on her shrine. Naturally, she is not aware of the many youkai that have visited it already in the past few days, but even then, the shrine had been visited by others in the past, and the reputation remains.

His stem displaying his usual expression, Flowey is currently frowning, equally displeased. "I only asked for your approval because I didn't want to bother hiding from you, but I can also do that if you don't accept me being here. I'll hang around the shrine whether you want to or not. It's still safer and quieter than the other places in Gensokyo." Flowey casts his gaze to the ground in a seemingly somber manner. "And it's not like I can go back to the Underground now..." As if his thoughts lent him even more strength of will than before, he looks back up at Reimu with an unnaturally long scowl and darkened eyes. "I could kill someone if you don't keep me around, you know? I could go to the Human Village and kill every single one of the humans in it. She brought me to you for a reason. She KNOWS I could do it. _I_ know I could do it. Are you _REALLY_ sure you'd rather take that chance?" His twisted scowl twists further into a crooked smirk. "You saw me in your dreams. I was relentless. For all you know, I could be tricking you into thinking I WON'T cause any trouble as long as you're around and start killing everyone you know without you noticing it."

"... You must be desperate, huh?" Reimu nonchalantly remarks, but her gaze is cold and assertive. "If you're trying to threaten me like that, you must really want to make sure I watch over you. Are you that scared of doing something you might regret?"

Slowly, Flowey's sinister expression transforms into a mere frown. "You have no idea," he responds in a low voice. "I know what I'm capable of. I know that no matter how hard I try... I'll forget myself and start causing trouble again. The worst part is that I won't regret it afterwards." Flowey's eyes narrow as his frown takes on a more bitter, saddened form. "It might be pointless trying to convince someone like you, but... Please. I need you to reconsider."

 **. . .**

"I don't know about that," Reimu says in a casual fashion, contrasting with Flowey immensely, "If you were that dangerous, you probably wouldn't be standing here right now." Reimu scratches her head as she muses on Flowey, even now not exuding any killing intent. However, Flowey notes, her words were more than serious: as lightly as Reimu seemed to take them, they were nothing but the truth. "Anyway, it's not like you'd leave after I beat you up, so..." Reimu glances to the side, almost as if that could erase any evidence of this conversation having happened. "I _suppose_ I'd let you go if you're staying at the outskirts. That is, if you don't cause me any trouble whatsoever." Reimu sourly grimaces, wondering if she will come to regret this decision later on. "You'll get what's coming for you if you do anything stupid! And if any visitors show up, you better hide!"

Flowey reflexively smiles, unable to contain the satisfaction of having managed to persuade Reimu. "Oh, don't worry! They won't even notice I'm here!" he confidently exclaims before slyly narrowing his eyes. "But then again, I probably won't have to hide that often considering how deserted this place is. Seriously, when was the last time you actually got a visitor?"

Reimu angrily scowls, as expected. "Today, so you take back what you said about the shrine if you know what's good for you!" She points her Purification Rod at Flowey in a threatening fashion, her hand shaking in fury.

"They don't count. They came to see you, not the shrine," Flowey retorts, only to frown. "And also... Don't tell them I was here. I don't want them to know where I am."

"I was never planning on it to begin with," is Reimu's immediate answer as she glances back to the shrine, towards its entrance. "But if you don't want to risk being found out right now, you should hide. They might just wake up soon if I'm all better." _This whole dream incident must have taken a big toll on a kid like them..._ Reimu decides not to even imagine what sort of dream they saw, judging it was probably a variation of one of her own.

Flowey playfully winks. "Trying to get rid of me already? You're right, though. I wouldn't want to risk it." With that, Flowey burrows into the ground and disappears without a trace, leaving Reimu alone to stare at where he originally was.

Briefly, she glances at the mountain before returning to the shrine building, pensive. Admittedly, she hadn't expected this outcome. Regardless, she knows there is meaning to Flowey's presence; for the time being, she figures she'll test the waters. As she reaches the room where the child remains asleep, Reimu grimaces. "Figures..." Staring down at them, Reimu is reminded of Flowey's words, detailing their involvement with her condition and dream. According to him, the dream she saw was a 'copy of what they had gone through'. It's strange for Reimu to imagine someone else having actually gone through the same adventure, and that their adventure was the true one; it disorients her ever so slightly. "It looks like I never had to break the barrier after all..."

The realization that everyone she had met are all free, perhaps roaming about Gensokyo further sinks into her. They are monsters, not youkai. Still, like all that resides in this land, they are a part of fantasy that cannot fit anywhere else. As such, Reimu sees in her the will to welcome them. With a smile, she ponders. Even if they do not know of her, she does not mind. In fact, it may just be better this way. If her adventure was ephemeral, so be it.

Her gaze reaching far beyond the confines of even her shrine, Reimu finds herself simply expecting the very best out of Gensokyo in light of its changes, as always. After all, she will ensure it as long as she lives, no matter what may befall her.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

* * *

Honestly, I don't really know what to say. Well, I do. I've thought about what to say in this section for so long I can't even estimate the amount. However, when it actually comes to writing it, I find myself staring into nothing, simply listening to the many Reimu-related musical arrangements I searched up to fit the mood. I ended up like that for basically 15 minutes, mostly just feeling the raw storm of emotions that finally surged within me after I was in the middle of writing the last sentences.

The storm of emotions originated from the fact that I truly was finishing this story. At least, that's what I suppose happened with me. I can't really put it into very coherent and understandable words: there's this urge to cry, but out of happiness, as if you were saying goodbye to someone who was going to move on with their life or something like that. A sort of bittersweet, sad but happy feeling. One where you can't help but become teary-eyed, but also feel proud of yourself; that you accomplished something. That this something, after years, has taken a substantial shape and that you made it happen. I finished it, man. I did it.

Hahaha, but I'm not so sure if you're happy. Surprised? This was the ending I'd always planned for. If you think about it, the story was named 'Unsubstantial Underground Adventure' for a reason: it was always supposed to end as a dream from Reimu. In fact, the original Japanese title was 'Sanbouken' with the kanji for 'mountain', 'dream' and 'incident/case'; I was almost spelling the plot twist out for you. Later on, I figured I should change the title because the kanji for 'dream' didn't truly have the spelling I wanted you to read as. As such, it then became 'Sanbouken' with the kanji for 'mountain', 'delusion/lie/falsehood/hogwash' (something along those lines; I just wanted to not translate it as 'bullshit' lol) and 'incident/case'. It was meant to be named Sanbouken because I wanted a wordplay involving 'bouken', which stands for adventure, making it also be 'mountain adventure'. Similarly enough, I wanted the English title to be Touhou-like in the sense that a bunch of words vaguely related to the story were thrown in and made into a supposedly coherent title. I figured that using words like 'Fantastical' or 'Phantasmagorical' or whatever would be too unoriginal and that words like 'Dream' or 'Illusionary' would be too obvious, so I went for 'Unsubstantial' because you could interpret it in many ways. What made the Mountain Adventure unsubstantial? Was it its meaning? Its plot? What was it? Well, it was actually because it truly had no physicality, though the word 'unsubstantial' really fits the plot in various ways.

At first, I really considered who I would put in the Underground. When my mind gravitated to Touhou, I found myself really questioning how you could even put a Touhou character there. You can't simply have them randomly fall down and call it a day. Most of the characters are too OP for that. People like Miko or Byakuren or Yukari were obvious plot no-go's because there simply would be no situation whatsoever that could force them down the Underground, no matter what I came up. I had to look towards characters who were a bit less important than that, but even then, I couldn't see a plot there. Should I make the character be kidnapped? Should they just accidentally fall somehow? But the former required a character that would want to put them in the Underground, and there is no such Touhou character; after all, Yukari doesn't actually gap people into places just because. But then again, the latter was too lackluster for a plot, so even if the character ended up leaving, it would just feel awkward and meaningless. I thought to the weaker youkai: sure, the power balance would be better, but why would they ever be put in the Underground and what weight would they hold in the story? I didn't really picture them there, at least not as something I should invest in writing. Maybe I should go for Marisa? I seriously considered Marisa, but Marisa... Isn't important in the panorama of Gensokyo. In terms of Touhou, she is greatly important, at least in my view, but if she were put in the Underground, it wouldn't be any scandal; maybe Reimu would find herself wondering where she is.

Eventually, I settled for Reimu because Reimu was the best choice all around. She was not a clear pacifist, so the playthrough wouldn't be basically the same as Frisk's, and she's not genocidal either, so it wouldn't be a huge kill fest with Chara and whatnot. However, if you hypothetically wanted Reimu to fall in by accident, how could you ever pull that off when Mt. Ebott is not originally in Gensokyo? 'Well, just move it there,' you say, but if I did, wouldn't that mean that the barrier would have already been broken? What basically stops this sort of stuff from being teleported to Gensokyo right away is 1. a majority that believes 2. seals or whatever that make it be away from the eyes of the Outside World to begin with.

In face of all these limitations, I came up with a plot: that Reimu would simply see these adventures in a dream. Now, you may look at two of my three one-shots (one of them's supposedly not a one-shot but it might as well be) and say 'You just can't make up anything other than stories where everything's actually a dream' but hey, I resent that! I can make other endings, I swear! It's just that those oneshots demanded dream endings, really, I can finish my stories without dream endings! ;_; Anyway, I had to make it dream to fulfill all purposes I wanted to fulfill. Originally, the story was just going to be Reimu in the Underground all the way through, with it then ending in a similar manner to Chapter 15, only for you to find that everything was a dream that Reimu had while she was passed out in the Forest of Magic, all because she was actually sick. She was supposed to actually go solve some minor incident in the Youkai Mountain, but on the way there, she passed out because she had a fever and went missing, causing Marisa to set out to find her. That was the original plot lol

However, in the middle of brainstorming, I found that it would simply be too much of a dick move to make up a story where it was all a dream without any foreshadowing, so I decided to include the Touhou scenes to 1. be able to write more Touhou characters than Reimu 2. make smoother timeskips and transitions 3. to see to it you'd have no reason to complain after reaching the ending seeing as you'd been given all possible foreshadowing in the world for it. Well, you'd always have the right to complain anyway, but yeah, I wrote the Touhou scenes basically to make you be able to guess the plot. Additionally, I thought about what outcome Reimu's adventure would bring: there is no way at all that Reimu would get to the True Pacifist ending considering its requirements. Asgore would totally die, among other things. But, as I thought of the idea of Mt. Ebott actually existing within the story, I couldn't help but find that too sad, so I decided to have the cake and eat it too. That while Reimu dreamt of her adventure, Mt. Ebott would have reached Gensokyo precisely because Frisk reached the True Pacifist ending. If I did that, the Undertale characters would reach the perfect ending and Reimu would have the adventure all at the same time.

After a while, I realized the 'Reimu actually had a fever' idea was too dumb to be a thing and scrapped it. Besides, it'd be WAAAAAY strange for Reimu to randomly dream of doing the same kind of adventure Frisk did without any actual purpose. So, I thought, how the hell am I gonna justify Reimu's dream? I searched through literally every Windows Touhou character existent, but there wasn't really someone who sounded like they would do this kind of thing... Except for one. I cursed myself and my lack of originality: 'shit, I'm using Yukari.' And yup, I used Yukari. I mean, come on! She's the only one with considerable ties to Reimu who'd have the power and motivations to do it! It's not like I could use Doremy or anything. Since I decided I was going to use Yukari to begin with, I decided to use her in a way that would be most in-character for her. I mean, most of the time, Yukari gets used to make people get dropped in Gensokyo or basically to do things out of whims. However, Yukari doesn't actually tend to do much of that in canon. Whenever Yukari acts, it's usually pretty subtle. It's usually a move that brings about some sort of fluctuation. Yukari's plans tend to be more like ripples in the water rather than some grand explosion. They all tend to be concocted in a way that you either barely notice she did it, or when you notice, you're supposed to feel some sort of dread from her. When she takes direct action, it's mostly for some motive related to Gensokyo itself.

I drew a lot of inspiration from Silent Sinner in the Blue. This is gonna be spoilers but Yukari basically does these tiny moves that ripple into the water to form precisely what she wants and you ultimately gawk at her genius: she does this whole Moon pseudo-invasion with Reimu and Remilia, purposely fails her own infiltration, and all of it so she can make Yuyuko, who wouldn't be noticed by the people of the Moon (so Yuyuko's the Silent Sinner in Blue by the way), sneak in to steal sake. Yes, all of it was for sake. But it wasn't JUST for sake, mind you. Yukari's actions were so Eirin would stop being all smug about being a Lunarian and learn her place in Gensokyo. Ultimately, Yukari acted so Eirin would learn to act as a human now that she is in Gensokyo and, as a human, teach her to fear youkai. Yukari just wanted to make Eirin and Kaguya fit in Gensokyo's society... And get some nice Lunarian booze. But basically, Yukari's motivations tend to mostly center on these sorts of things. In Forbidden Scrollery, Mamizou hypothesizes that someone spread a rumor about the end of the world and basically manipulated the power of the urban legends in Gensokyo to make everything thrive, and this is a continuation from Marisa's ending in Touhou 15, where Yukari visits saying they're lucky they got a hold of the Occult balls because they can change Gensokyo even more. Also, Yukari's planning something with Kosuzu on Volume 7 and I am SOOOOO looking forward to that because I've no idea what it is.

Naturally, I'm not a genius like ZUN is, so I may not have gotten Yukari to act as amazingly as she usually does, but I did try. And, in general, Chapter 16 was written as a way to give you the precise answers to everything that was set up in the story, while also providing reactions and conclusions to all actions the characters had been up to on the Touhou side. While I thought people would see the plot twist coming from miles away, a lot of people genuinely didn't know where I was headed, and I was pretty surprised: I mean, I immediately bring out scenes of characters claiming to have visited Mt. Ebott and talked to its population. This naturally implies that, on the Touhou side, the barrier is broken. As such, there would have to be two realities: Reimu's and everyone else's. Seeing as the only person from Touhou sharing in Reimu's reality is Reimu herself, it's easy to assume that true reality is the one you see on the Touhou scenes, so you can immediately conclude Reimu's on some illusionary trip. At least, that was what I thought. But apparently it wasn't obvious? Either way, what Yukari did this time around had multiple functions, but they were all ultimately for the sake of Mt. Ebott's integration into Gensokyo. You'd think Yukari wouldn't risk something like using Reimu, but Yukari has no reservations: in Silent Sinner in Blue, she steps over even her own pride and dignity to accomplish her plans, and uses Reimu to get Remilia making a rocket to the Moon. Would you think Yukari wouldn't use Reimu as a decoy?

Youkai, particularly the ones in the Youkai Mountain, are very wary of competition. In general, youkai are split into factions, and the factions that exist are locked in a conflict for influence in the Human Village, as influence in the Human Village is the equivalent to power in Gensokyo. With that in mind, imagine if a mountain suddenly appeared in Gensokyo: the power required to simply move a mountain is no joke; it's likely littered with youkai, too. Tensions between youkai would surely rise, and spark conflict. If that was going to be the case, why not just make up something that would completely distract youkai? Even then, Mt. Ebott ended up in a time tensions between youkai were only just starting with Mamizou's appearance (which is causing tension precisely because Mamizou's strengthened the Tanuki faction by becoming their leader) and while Touhou 14 had just ended, so it even put itself in the most convenient time possible. However, it naturally would not be good if the mountain were there, and the monsters had any activity while the youkai were watching over them.

Then, Reimu disappears. Elaborately so. Though, to keep to the order of scenes in Chapter 16, I'll go over the Dream World scene first. I have to admit, I wasn't planning on writing Doremy. However, when I found that I needed a scene in the Dream World, I couldn't NOT write a scene with Doremy. She wasn't very pleased, as you wouldn't be when someone starts shit in the Dream World and uses dreams in an unnatural, dangerous fashion. When I knew I had to write this scene, I simultaneously knew I had to place it in the beginning, no matter how many spoilers it would give off right away; you could already tell Reimu was dreaming it anyway. The scene would never fit in the middle of the story, so I had it be the very first as basically the means to justify Reimu's final conversation with Flowey. Truthfully, Reimu wasn't talking to the same Flowey she'd beaten up, basically. The Flowey that was breaking the Fourth Wall and opposing Reimu was a dream Flowey, while the Flowey Reimu talked to at the end of Chapter 15 was not. So, uh. Think about that.

Meanwhile, Yuyuko tries to make Youmu think about things, but Youmu isn't very good with Yuyuko's roundabout ways. I didn't think I was going to write Yuyuko either, but I honestly reeeeeaaally wanted to fit her in because I love her. I love her sort of cheery, absent-minded but clearly not unintelligent personality. Yuyuko is actually very sharp, and matches up Yukari in conversation for this very reason. However, Youmu's not very bright. It isn't that she is dumb, but that she's so straightforward and practical that other things don't really surge to her naturally. That scene was basically Yuyuko trying to make Youmu think about Yukari's plans, and in the end, she got some success, I suppose. Youmu still didn't really get it, but Yuyuko tried her best. Naturally, Yuyuko totally wants that party, but it couldn't happen either. In any case, Youmu's venture into the mountain had two purposes: to gather information, and to spread information. Like Yuyuko said, Youmu was simply watering the planted seed, and going to the mountain to solve the incident was actually very unimportant.

Speaking of that, I still get sad at the fact that I wasn't able to include Sanae in this chapter, but I really couldn't. If I did, it would be filler, as much as I really feel like writing Sanae, Suwako and Kanako. Sure, we could have had a talk about negociations with the mountain, but... That isn't really what the story is about, let's just say. At least, I didn't really want to dive into Mt. Ebott's appearance in this chapter, as much as you know it's around. As such, the focus is more on Reimu and her disappearance, with the next scene including Seiga and Miko! It was originally gonna be Futo and Miko, then Miko and Futo and Seiga, but it then became just Miko and Seiga because I couldn't fit Futo in: after all, Futo doesn't need to be briefed on Miko's investigation; she already knows everything about it. Meanwhile, Seiga doesn't actively hang around Miko, and while Miko doesn't want to associate herself with Seiga, there was that one image of Seiga playing shogi or something with Futo (omg why Futo) so I'm assuming Seiga sometimes stops by. Besides, I figured I should write Seiga if I mentioned her relaying information to Miko in the story.

Though, I was admittedly nervous about Seiga because I'm not very good at her. Seiga's not a good person, but she's very chipper and playful, and she made me lol in her appearance in Wild and Horned Hermit. Unfortunately, I don't tend to be good at writing these sorts of characters. I did try, though. I read up on Seiga. I wondered how Miko would address Seiga, and I figured there would be some familiarity, but that Miko wouldn't regard her very highly. However, the reason Miko was in such low spirits was actually because the investigation was not bringing in results and not because of Seiga's presence. I mean, when someone basically screws around with you building up some fake case, you kind of get mad. Meanwhile, Miko is very over-confident: she thought she'd crack it for sure; she thought she was gonna crack this super high scale case. When everything came crashing down at her, she found herself somewhat dejected, as anyone like her would normally be. In Hopeless Masquerade, she finds herself dejectedly figuring that things weren't going like her expectations dictated, and she overall acts in a manner that implies she is not comfortable with things not going according to plan. Because of this, Miko gets in low spirits because of Yukari, even feeling somewhat disturbed at her genius, which could perhaps surpass even her own, and that she was perhaps taught a lesson because of this: to look at things in a smaller scale. She would've brushed off Seiga's suggestion were she in a normal mood, but Yukari's trolling taught her not to get her hopes up lol

Miko being Miko though, she also gets even more motivated to solve the case; I don't think Miko would just give up or rage quit. She would instead find herself respecting the mastermind and wishing to then retaliate, to attempt to learn from her mistakes and surpass them. Now, more than to get to the bottom of Reimu's situation, Miko's just solving it because she wants to get to the bottom of the mastermind. To be continued...? Overall, Miko's the most like a detective in the entire story and it amuses me greatly XD I just start feeling like doing some sort mystery story with detective Miko and her assistant Futo solving cases in Gensokyo lol. Anyway, about Miko's discoveries, just so you don't get confused, what they're saying is that the Three Fairies of Light were given a powder that would turn people's tongues blue, and they decided to use it on Reimu, who's nearby. However, when they mixed in the powder with the tea, said tea was switched by the perpetrator with normal tea, which Reimu took, before the perpetrator then placed sleeping powder all over the storage, but a sort of sleeping powder that deliberately does not match the way Reimu falls asleep.

You'd think 'How'd the perpetrator get the timing right when she was busy with the Dream World?' But this all happened before the whole Dream World stuff. Precisely when Reimu took the normal tea, the sleeping powder was placed and into the Dream World she went. Also, 'How would these powders be mixed into Reimu's tea?' Is not Japanese tea made into powder, normally? But then again, this may be only precisely before making the tea, but just imagining someone making the tea into powder every time sounds like a lot of work. Even if it weren't in powder but in tiny packets, it would be possible to slip the powder in. Besides, even if none of these apply, the fairies could have tried to slip in the powder but it'd be switched with normal tea anyway and the sleeping powder was supposed to be showy, so it's all fine. Hopefully.

Mamizou is so much fun to write. Everything about her is great. She's so pleasantly devious, and the down-to-earth feel she gives off is great. When I figured I'd include Mamizou, I decided I may as well write Kosuzu and make a scene about the humans and the youkai parade. Mamizou got her ass kicked, but at least the youkai parade drove the humans away in every perfect way possible. The way she interacted with Kosuzu, clearly just trying to steer her in the right direction, was great and kinda sad, because it only shows how much Mamizou couldn't care less about Kosuzu. Meanwhile, Kosuzu, at this point in Touhou (around Volume 2-3 of Forbidden Scrollery if I remember it right...?), really looks up to her. Kosuzu's very bright in every sense of the word, so she's actually really likable; it only goes to show how ZUN makes interesting protagonists since she's not bland at all. Forbidden Scrollery is a great official manga and you should read it; it's reeeeeaaaally good. Mamizou theorizes that maybe everything, even the youkai parade, was planned from the very beginning, but she's only partially right. Still, pretty scary stuff, huh? Sometimes, I feel as though a lot of my Touhou scenes are just Forbidden Scrollery homages ^^'

The scene with Futo and Alice was very short, but it was actually one of the most important among all of them. At first, I didn't know what I was gonna do with Alice, but knew that I had to have a scene with her because she was a member of the search party, and every member of the search party is important enough to have an appearance at the final chapter. I thought about making it Sanae, but since there's no way they could've been together, it became Futo instead. While Alice is relaxing as always, I had to deliberate on Futo's dialogue. Alice is very overbearing and self-confident, so she tends to stick to her own conclusions. Meanwhile, Futo basically figured everything out. You may think Futo would never be able to do so, but you have to think back to Futo's background: she's the one who led her own clan and the Soga to war and plotted her clan's downfall. If there's anyone who's gonna know about plots and schemes in the conversation, it's gonna be Futo. It's literally part of her background! So Futo figured out what Reimu's disappearance was for, but Alice didn't buy it, hahaha ='D Also, Futo did know Alice was a youkai all along.

Suika and Aya's scene was more youkai-focused, and had a very different perspective and feel to it. Suika's an honest youkai, while Aya thrives off of exaggerating events. Her newspaper is shady, and most people call her out on it in seconds, though Aya denies it. Rather than focusing on the youkai parade, she knew Reimu's disappearance was the real scoop and wrote an article about it faster than anyone else. This originated a huuuge spike in popularity for Aya's newspaper, but it's not just her who's enjoying this sort of popularity. Reimu's disappearance made a lot of youkai profit, and Mamizou's scene implies this as well. It was because of it that they were able to let loose, and because of it people like Aya are thriving right now. As newspapers thrive, so does gossiping. Aya took advantage of this and the mysterious nature of the case Miko's handling and basically wrote an article centered precisely on the fact that you can draw your own conclusions and theories, which drives people to seek out more information; it's all in everyone's benefit... And Yukari's. Beyond that, Aya addresses youkai tensions, and it's kind of dark stuff. Suika just wants to party, though.

But she can't because Reimu's down. I didn't know what purpose Sakuya and Remilia's scene was gonna serve, so I figured I'd give it the honors of being about Reimu's condition. Remilia is fond of Reimu, and she really wanted that rematch, so she's in a bad mood. Also, Remilia is very very very easy to write, so I loved writing her because I really felt at ease. Besides, Sakuya and Remilia, though it should be a given, work splendidly together. While exposing Reimu's condition, they were really entertaining to write. Sakuya was particularly savage omg when she joked about Shinmyoumaru I died a little on the inside XD Remilia ends up wanting to visit Reimu, but we never really get to see the visit, unfortunately. Also, Nue's scene! In the grand scheme of things, it didn't have much of a point even though I had some stuff planned out, but it was basically about a youkai perspective into the monsters. And just dat feel when she finds out about the case behind Reimu's disappearance and finds it a masterpiece XD It's great because she really would, since it's like the epitome of making people fear what they can't figure out. Because Nue's so much more simple-minded like this, it's a ton of fun writing her. She was the one who mainly fought Suika, but she naturally lost because Suika is too strong.

When you finally get to the Hakurei Shrine, things feel much calmer, but heavier at the same time. I mostly wanted to get into Marisa's head, and do her justice. I wanted the whole part to heavily touch on Marisa, who basically deserves a medal for being such an eternal bro for Reimu, really. I mean, she went to search for Reimu because she figured she'd get to solve an incident and get the credit and she usually just butts into Reimu's business, but hey, Marisa stuck around for Reimu! That must count for something. Reimu's very distant, but I at least think the two consider each other friends for real. I considered including Sanae here because it was very likely that she'd show up, but with Kasen and Shinmyoumaru also around, I couldn't really bring myself to add more people because it'd clutter dialogue. Anyway, I wanted the first moments of the scene to be somber, with Marisa watching over Reimu, wondering when the hell she'd wake up.

Also, Marisa's totally into adorable things. You see it all over the official manga. Reimu also likes adorable things, by the way. Their reactions to cute things put a smile on my face. Since Shinmyoumaru falling asleep on her hat was adorable, Marisa couldn't bring herself to get her away from it ^^' Anyway, Yukari shows up, and Marisa isn't a great fan of Yukari. She doesn't hate her or anything: she thinks of Yukari in basically the same way everybody thinks of Yukari; as a perpetually suspicious person who you can't trust at all. Also, she REALLY doesn't like it when Yukari sneaks up on her. Marisa's kind of difficult to nail, but Yukari is surprisingly easy to write. In fact, if you look back on things where Yukari canonically appears, ZUN seems to have no problem writing things from Yukari's perspective. As such, I figured I SHOULD give away some of her thoughts, and to make sure she is not omniscient. Yukari is not portrayed in a super amazing way: Yukari sometimes doesn't know things; sometimes things happen that she doesn't really account for. I mean, she is portrayed as someone with very high levels of intelligence, but ZUN never takes it to impossible, too perfect lengths. Instead, Yukari is made out to be wiser than anything else. Frequently, she's talking about different abstract ideas and concepts relating to the situation, among other supernatural truths. Also, she can be calculating, but she is not always calculating and does sometimes act on whims.

Another thing to note is that wow, Yukari is condescending lol She basically knows she's smarter than everybody else and that rubs me the wrong way because it's not like the other characters wouldn't be able to understand if they tried, c'mon! I also tried my best not to make Yukari too playful and enigmatic, because Yukari isn't actually like this very much. There's this mental image of Yukari constantly having a sort of playful smile on her face, and she does smile playfully, but there are equally many instances where she's being more neutral and saying things plainly. There are plenty of times where Yukari's just being serious. Yukari can play around, but I really tried to balance this out because she isn't always playing around or making it seem like she's playing around. However, in the scene with Marisa, you could basically say she was toying with her, though she didn't come over because of Marisa. Naturally, I held off on Yukari throughout the whole story, and planned for her to show up at the ending. I even planned on her showing up precisely when Reimu woke up. However, it was actually really troublesome since then I'd have to make Kasen interact with her and Shinmyoumaru would wake up and it'd be really awkward.

The scene with Yukari basically clears up every other part you didn't get already, though some are told through narration rather than anything else because she's pondering on these matters. The narration takes to being on Yukari's side this time around and it reveals key things such as the fact that Mt. Ebott had actually been around the day before Reimu disappeared (so the barrier was already broken then) but Yukari hid it from sight to prepare everything. Also, the identity of the certain someone is made wholly clear to you, while Marisa gets super confused on every part of the dream. I liked that Yukari went on about how dreams were dangerous: Yukari tends to explain all these sorts of things willingly; she likes talking, really. Though, the irony is really bitter lol.

Marisa and Shinmyoumaru really started getting along, but I was admittedly struggling with their conversation, mostly because I didn't know where to stop and I didn't know how witty I wanted both to be lol Still, the moment Reimu woke up was really emotional: Shinmyoumaru and Reimu also got along really well while Shinmyoumaru was at the shrine, so I figured she'd cry because she's really like a kid on the outside and inside. Meanwhile, Marisa is not very emotional, so I took great care in portraying her reaction. Sure, she was worried about Reimu, but familiarity and Marisa's personality would never allow for an emotional reaction. Marisa acts rather impersonal towards things, and I figured she wouldn't really know what to say either. Meanwhile, I figured I couldn't avoid Kasen any longer and made her show up. Kasen's someone who's trying to be a good person, and she did worry for Reimu. In fact, she was the one who took care of Reimu to begin with. Kasen's also basically considered by others to be the one thing that may make the Hakurei Shrine thrive (or something along those lines) so I figured it really fit. Also, a more gentle personality really made a difference in the scene.

However, I found myself liking Reimu's dialogue the most. It was just... Reimu, not really getting what's going on, and awkwardly noting that everybody was being sad for what she perceives to be no reason. Despite her shitty condition, she moves forward, and she was gonna get to the bottom of things, but the ending happened, I suppose. I was never planning on Reimu meeting with Flowey. At least, not here. But then I realized it would be too terrible of me not to tie up this loose end here: I couldn't just leave the story with Reimu still thinking there was an incident to solve. Initially, I was going to have Reimu meet Frisk and end it there, but it was too inconclusive. I mean, what's the point of meeting Frisk? The story may have no point to begin with (damn it Sans stop being right), but that wouldn't be much of an ending. Instead, I decided to adress another part of the plot: why the people of the mountain were laying low, and Frisk's role in all of this. So, Frisk stops Reimu from going to the mountain by passing out and Flowey shows up. I had this funny interaction from Remilia and Sakuya I wanted to include, but it wasn't letting me end the scene properly so I scrapped it, unfortunately ^^' Anyway, Flowey.

Reimu needed to meet Flowey for everything to go full circle in terms of the ending, or so I realized. This scene was originally meant for something else, which is why I didn't think to write it now, but the more I thought about it, the more the scene HAD to be put in here. It was the only way to end the story in a way that solved everything that was set up. So uh... They talked. Hahaha, surprised, huh? If Reimu accepts Clownpiece living DIRECTLY UNDER HER SHRINE later on, she can certainly accept Flowey hanging around. There are many reasons as to why he went for this. There are also many reasons as to why Reimu accepted it. But I suppose that's something for another day. I like writing Flowey in that True Pacifist Ending state of his; it's basically Flowey, but different. Is this character development I smell...? ^^ Reimu of course figured the mastermind out right away and the way she approached Flowey's words was kind of amazing. It reminded me of Sans, honestly XD As much as there was no other way to end the story, I still feel a little reluctant because the ending is basically a set-up for a sequel. I mean, I couldn't have the story drag on. Even if monsters interacting with Gensokyo is great, it would be out-of-place if the story kept going after Reimu wakes up and everything is solved.

Though, speaking of dragging things on, I was planning on something completely different for the ending, you have no idea. This ending is shorter and more open-ended, in a way, but the ending I was gonna write before this one was going to be much more grand and epic. It was going to include all major Undertale characters and overall be Reimu visiting the mountain while in her shitty condition and reminiscing, seeing them talk to her as if they didn't know her. Some of the dialogue I wrote was very impactful, especially considering what happened in Reimu's dream adventure, but I scrapped that ending because it was simply dragging the story for too long. It was far too grand to fit into this chapter, and it actually was more trouble than it was worth with Reimu not truly being in the best of shapes. Also, I didn't know how to end the story from it, which was a huge problem. I wrote a few thousand words of it, but they're never gonna be seen again, I suppose.

Well, I can only understand if you don't end up liking this ending. From the very beginning, I was prepared to see people disappointed, though it really was the only way I thought would be right. Besides, despite the focus on Reimu's adventure, the plot is very Touhou-centric, and I already knew it wasn't going to be very exciting and grand. I considered Sans showing up, but the choice was too biased even if he was one of the most likely people to show up: if I was ever going to show a major Undertale character, I'd have to show them all if I was going to make it fair and meaningful. Whatever the case, it's over, and I still can't really believe it. I certainly hope my Author's Notes won't be longer than the chapter itself ^^' Though it was just a what-if with me REALLY trying to imagine Reimu in the Underground, with time, it really started to have more and more meaning. Can you believe I originally thought I'd be able to write the whole thing in 6 Chapters? In the end, it became 16. What I meant to be a short story became something with like 400-600 pages worth of content. But even in the midst of that, I really wanted to finish the story. This story was basically a way for me to prove that I can actually finish something. That maybe I'll be able to do something with my life, and finish it. I've been wanting to write my own original work, and I've always been dejected over the fact that I never finished a long project. Over time, years passing, I realized how much this right here was a big project. How I was being able to write something after all. I ended up making a promise to myself: I was going to finish this, because if I didn't, I'd never be able to know if I could finish anything at all. The writing in this story is actually really different from what I usually do: I normally write in past tense and try harder with descriptions and character actions, so I personally think I may not have done myself justice in the writing department. Regardless, I can assure you that I put real effort into constructing this plot, and I can only hope it did pay off in some way. That hey, maybe even I have a shot at getting something done.

At the time I was coming up with the story, there were no Undertale crossovers in the website, and the Undertale fanfic section was still growing. When I was writing chapters for it, there were about 3 crossovers; mine was one of the very first, and I believe I must have only gotten this much of a following because my timing just happened to be really good. I honestly never thought all that many people would read this thing: maybe it'd get to around 50 followers if I was lucky. That's what I thought. Man, was I apparently wrong. Lots of people read my story, and lots of people seemed to appreciate it. It was really awe-inducing to me. I had all these reviews, and most of them helpful and great; it truly felt like people were trying to support and help my story become all that much better. I seriously could only wonder if I deserved them in light of my 'it was actually a dream all along' ending. Either way, no matter what, I'll be thankful. Truthfully. I'll always be thankful of the people who read, the people who followed, the people who put the story on their favorites, and the people who left me reviews. To me, you are all wonderful, and I can only be thankful of the fact that you stuck around this far, even despite this story's flaws. You had no obligation to do so. But you were there for this story anyway. I truly couldn't thank you more. If you even got this far into the Author's Notes, and it always awed me that people seemed to actually bother reading them, I can only commend your patience. Seriously. I ramble too much, don't I?

Whatever the case, thank you for everything, forevermore. **Will there ever be a sequel, you ask?** Maybe. Well, considering the ending, probably as I do have some plans. I won't make any promises, but I've tempted the possibility of two works related to this story, one being a sequel, and another being more like a supplementary work, both with more focus on Mt. Ebott in Gensokyo. Still, if I'm ever to write these works, I'll only post them if I find myself committed to finish them. Since I have personal projects of my own, I cannot guarantee that I will truly write these ideas I have, however. I don't want to lead you on. Well, now that I've basically written all there is to write (I do actually have more but I probably should stop now ^^'), I suppose I'll leave you with a deleted sentence.

 **Deleted sentence:** "As Reimu returns their handshake with a curious gaze, the child smoothly remarks that they are ready to donate their love to the Hakurei Shrine."

If you know what I mean ;D Yes, I did write this. Because it made me die on the inside, I erased it from the story. Anyway, again, thank you very much for sticking around this far! Hopefully there was some worth to what I have written as, to me, your presence really impacted me and supported me throughout!


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